ENVIRONMENTAL LABORATORY 39
Marine debris tracker attachment
Crew members studying samples - credit: Eleanor Church, Lark Rise Pictures
Crew members studying samples - credit: Eleanor Church, Lark Rise Pictures
eXXpedition science at sea
Crew members studying samples - credit: Eleanor Church, Lark Rise Pictures
Big waves over the bow - credit: Eleanor Church, Lark Rise Pictures
3) It can’t always be easy to carry out research in all weather conditions, has there been a time when conducting your research was particularly challenging?
It’s fair to say it’s never easy but we’ve had a lot of practice! The combination of remote ocean sailing, scientific research at sea and bringing together crews of international multidisciplinary women with mixed levels of sailing experiences makes offshore sailing expeditions, extremely challenging feats to pull off! It is a delicate formula to get right. Happily, we seem to have found the right balance over the years! For us, no doubt, the greatest challenge we’ve faced is what we’re facing right now with the global pandemic of covid-19. Like everyone around the world we worked hard to adapt to these changing times and the latter part of our circumnavigation was done through a series of 8 virtual voyages which used technology to bring the experience to our participants around the world.
4) Why have you used all female crews on your missions?
eXXpedition began as an all-women venture when I was learning about the potential toxic implications of chemicals used in the production of plastic, and other pollutants in our environment. I did a study on my own body to look at the chemicals we were finding in the ocean, these persistent organic pollutants and looked at 35 chemicals that were banned because they’re toxic. It turned out that I had 29 of these 35 chemicals in my blood. And as a woman, having those chemicals inside your body when you’re pregnant is really bad news and you can actually pass them onto your children when you give birth. It made me think wow, this is actually quite a woman centred issue so it felt right to tackle it with an amazing team of women. Plus, when we first set out with our tagline of “making the unseen seen”, we originally thought it was about microplastics, these unseen bits of plastic in the ocean and the toxic pollutants as well. But then we started to realise that there were many more “unseens” that we were highlighting, and a lot of that was women in science, women in sport and exploration and sailing. And our project touches on so many different areas that don’t typically have women at the forefront.
5) How can people get involved with your work?
The more time I spend at sea, the more I realise that the solutions to ocean plastic are on land. Every bottle, toothbrush or clothes peg polluting the ocean once belonged to someone. It’s billions of micro-actions that have led us to this situation and it’s billions of micro-actions that will get us out.
We’re passionate about using technology to help solve the plastic crisis and on World Ocean Day last year, in partnership with SAP, eXXpedition launched the SHiFT Platform to help individuals and businesses find their role in solving ocean plastic pollution. Over 5,000 people a month from 133 countries use the tool to navigate hundreds of impactful solutions from sea to source and find the ones that are best for them to action.
From small individual changes to large global projects, solution examples range from high-tech to a return to basics. They include making DIY cleaning products, lobbying for more drinking water refill stations in their city, reducing plastic in the supply chain to going entirely packaging free. It even features innovative products like NONA’s Recycled Ocean Plastic Clothes Pegs, which are made from retired fishing gear that may otherwise end up in the sea! Visit
www.shift.how.
Author Contact Details Abi Constantine, Warrior Agency • 50 Southbourne Grove, Bournemouth BH6 3RB, UK • Tel: 07470 920918 • Email:
abi@warrioragency.co.uk • Web:
www.warrioragency.co.uk
Comprehensive Environmental Mass Spectrometry
Comprehensive Environmental Mass Spectrometry describes in full colour the power of mass spectrometry in resolving environmental issues and demonstrating how real-world complex problems can be solved in a simple and elegant way.
The book begins with the general principles of mass spectrometry, then proceeds to describe a range of techniques including imaging, ambient mass spectrometry, miniaturisation and isotope ratio mass spectrometry. A variety of applications are covered, including different types of environmental pollutants, such as emerging contaminants, pesticides, volatile organic pollutants, persistent halogenated compounds, drinking water disinfection by-products and atmospheric aerosols, as well as the new discipline of petroleomics.
Aimed at both novice and experienced mass spectrometrists, each chapter is in the form of an easy-to-read tutorial and contains case studies with examples of real environmental problems and solutions. Essential reading for environmental scientists, this book is also relevant to those in other disciplines such as biologists, geologists, forensic scientists and petrochemists and is available in print or as an eBook.
For More Info, email: email:
For More Info, email: email:
54168pr@reply-direct.com
WWW.ENVIROTECH-ONLINE.COM IET NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021
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