Every year an estimated 12.7m tonnes of plastic ends up in our oceans and seas, resulting in an emerging environmental crisis that is making the world sit up and take notice. This year, in its 50th year, the Southampton Boat Show highlighted the global issue of plastic pollution in our oceans.
Our mission as a University is to ‘change the world for the better’. As world-leading experts in marine, Earth and environmental sciences, one of the many ways we are implementing this mission is by exploring the secrets of our blue planet and researching the impact of plastics in our oceans.
The University has a long-standing relationship with the Boat Show, regularly participating in the ten day event that is Britain’s biggest and best festival of boating, which regularly attracts more than 100,000 visitors a year.
Malcolm Hudson, Director of the Marine and Maritime Research in Plastics group, says: “The theme of this year’s Boat Show provided an excellent opportunity for us to raise public awareness about the issues of plastics in our oceans and showcase the extensive research we are doing; working together to help secure the future of our blue planet.
At Southampton we are conducting research at the leading edge of marine science all over the globe, and the Boat Show gave us the chance to share our latest academic and PhD research and how it could impact on this issue regionally and internationally.
Academics and students were involved in creating the ‘Science of the Sea Experience’ for this year’s Southampton Boat Show. They offered tours of the Research Vessel Callista on the main pontoon with a remote autonomous vehicle (ROV) filming under water. Visitors to the show also got the chance to sit on the bridge and take a look at plankton samples under the microscope.
The ‘Science of the Sea Experience’ offered insights into native marine life from the coastal waters of the UK, and showed how a few simple changes in lifestyle habits could help reduce the amount of plastics contaminating our oceans.
A range of videos were created for the event, highlighting some of the work our academics and students are undertaking to understand more about our relationship with plastics, and how we can work together to reduce plastic waste and protect the future health of our oceans.
Staff and students also shared information about our range of research including how plastics get into our ocean – from source to sea; the impact from microplastics on marine life and the ecosystems they inhabit; and investigating the volume of plastic we use in our everyday lives. This research is carried out by academics and PhD students in the University’s Marine and Maritime Research in Plastics group, which facilitates multidisciplinary collaborations from across the University to focus on plastic pollution.
Read more about our involvement in the Southampton Boat Show 2018
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