Posts tagged with

Marine Debris

A Look Back on the Year in Emergency Response

Posted Fri, 01/17/2025 - 10:12
By Doug Helton, Regional Operations Supervisor, Emergency Response Division

The Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) provides critical scientific support to protect our coastal communities following natural disasters and other incidents that result in marine pollution. Within OR&R, the Emergency Response Division (ERD) provides scientific expertise and services to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) on everything from running oil spill trajectories that model where the spill may spread, to identifying possible effects on wildlife and fisheries, and estimating how long the oil may impact coastal communities and ecology. Additionally, the Marine Debris Program (MDP) supports national and international partners to respond to large debris caused by major disasters within communities at risk of and responding to impacts from severe weather. At the end of each year, we reflect on the response events and activities that OR&R supported.

Advances in Pollution Response and Assessment Science

Posted Tue, 08/22/2023 - 15:57

As new and more intense forms of marine pollution threaten coastal ecosystems, economies, and communities, scientists from NOAA OR&R collaborate with leading experts on topics like marine debris, environmental economics, endangered species, environmental chemistry, and many other subjects that intersect with pollution science. This blog highlights some recently published scientific advances supporting pollution response and assessment.

Using Response Technology and Tools to Prevent and Remove Marine Debris

Posted Fri, 10/07/2022 - 11:29
By the NOAA Marine Debris Program Response Team

Hurricanes, typhoons, earthquakes, and tsunamis are among nature's most powerful and destructive events, and when these natural disasters strike, they can create massive amounts of debris. That’s why NOAA's Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, is participating in National Preparedness Month and highlighting NOAA technology, tools, and resources created to help prevent and respond to disaster-generated marine debris. 

How Marine Debris Travels

Posted Mon, 05/02/2022 - 01:11
By Alexandria Brake, OR&R Marine Debris Program

Just like people who travel around the world, our trash travels and it can go pretty far! Even if it’s dropped in an inland location, litter can easily become marine debris. Then it can move around the ocean, being pushed around by wind and currents, and traveling to far off locations, from remote islands to the depths of the ocean.

A Mission to Mālama Through Marine Debris Removal

Posted Thu, 12/09/2021 - 13:07
Office of Response and Restoration Marine Debris Program

On Wednesday, September 22, the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center’s Marine Debris Project team, joined by the non-profit Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project, marked the completion of their marine debris removal mission in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (monument). The team arrived at Pearl Harbor aboard the charter vessel IMUA along with the nearly 124,000 pounds of marine debris removed during the 30-day mission.