CoAuthors

Linsey Haram (Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, United States); Mary Crowley (Ocean Voyages Institute, United States); Jan Hafner (IPRC/SOEST, University of Hawaii, United States); Gregory Ruiz (Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, United States); James Carlton (Williams College, United States); Luca Centurioni (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, United States); Andrey Shcherbina (Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, United States); Cathryn C Murray (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canada)

Artificial floating marine debris generated by disasters and everyday operations can carry some species over long distances and provide a substrate for a new type of pelagic ecosystem, in which coastal species can survive and establish signifying another global change caused by people.

FloatEco is a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary project, co-sponsored by the NASA Physical Oceanography and NASA Biodiversity and Ecological Forecasting, studying physical and biological processes maintaining such floating ecosystem.

FloatEco heavily relies on help of dozens of companies and individuals to:
- deploy, inspect and recover scientific instruments;
- collect biological samples;
- search floating debris and tag it with satellite trackers;
- survey large debris to validate satellite and model data;
- publicize outcomes of the project and raise awareness.

In this presentation we overview our experience and achievements in collaboration with citizen scientists and volunteers during the first year of the project.

Figure Caption. Collage of photographs from citizen scientists and volunteers, who contributed to FloatEco project.