Abstract
I am researching the effects of pollution on the Pacific Ocean ecosystem and methods of remediation that do not further impact the vitality of natural marine habitats. The particular area of interest is an estimated seven million tons of plastic waste which is found in varying degrees of photodegradation one to three meters below the water surface. This anomaly covers an area roughly one million square kilometers and has been referenced with many names, the most notable being "The Great Pacific Garbage Patch".
Currently, I am undertaking this research in Australia at the University of Melbourne. Many factors make Australia a premier locale for the study of environmental matters. First, due to its relative isolation from all of the other continents, Australia has the highest number of endemic species of flora and fauna on the planet. Second, its extremely harsh environments and nutrient poor soils create very high levels of biodiversity and species richness in the flora and fauna systems. Lastly, due to the harsh environments, Australia trails the rest of the world in levels of negative human impacts on natural systems and has a unique opportunity to mitigate and correct these impacts before serious damage occurs.
The research will aim to produce a thesis that will contain both methodological analysis of the problem and a technical manual to implementing a solution. It is my hope that the research will also lead to an small expedition to begin remediation operations (i.e. cleanup) and positively inform the thesis, respectively. The solution produced in the thesis will be scalable and serve as a guiding framework for a larger operation, perhaps on a global scale invloving many governments of the world.
