[{"command":"settings","settings":{"ajaxPageState":{"theme":"hm_theme","theme_token":"_dtE6wBXBOrJy1jsf0ZdYJnkLeLqTiQjPgPTOEzbxv8","libraries":"eJwDAAAAAAE"},"ajaxTrustedUrl":{"form_action_p_pvdeGsVG5zNF_XLGPTvYSKCf43t8qZYSwcfZl2uzM":true},"pluralDelimiter":"\u0003","user":{"uid":0,"permissionsHash":"2af85631393b514cbde3779a1f71d92618d53b94b54ea1960d28b2e2d121ff12"}},"merge":true},{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6815\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EGarbage-collecting aqua drones and jellyfish filters for cleaner oceans\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/environment\/marine\/good-environmental-status\/descriptor-10\/index_en.htm\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Ecost of sea litter in the EU\u003C\/a\u003E has been estimated at up to \u20ac630 million per year. It is mostly composed of plastics, which take hundreds of years to break down in nature, and has the potential to affect human health through the food chain because plastic waste is eaten by the fish that we consume.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I\u2019m an accidental environmentalist,\u2019 said Richard Hardiman, who runs a project called WASTESHARK. He says that while walking at his local harbour one day he stopped to watch two men struggle to scoop litter out of the sea using a pool net. Their inefficiency bothered Hardiman, and he set about trying to solve the problem. It was only when he delved deeper into the issue that he realised how damaging marine litter, and plastic in particular, can be, he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I started exploring where this trash goes - ocean gyres (circular currents), junk gyres, and they\u2019re just full of plastic. I\u2019m very glad that we\u2019re now doing something to lessen the effects,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@alignleft@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022An aqua drone developed by the WasteShark project can collect litter in harbors before it gets carried out into the open sea. Image credit - WasteShark\u0022 height=\u00221124\u0022 src=\u0022https:\/\/horizon-magazine.eu\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/WasteShark_4594.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022An aqua drone developed by the WasteShark project can collect litter in harbors before it gets carried out into the open sea. Image credit - WasteShark\u0022 width=\u00222000\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EAn aqua drone developed by the WasteShark project can collect litter in harbors before it gets carried out into the open sea. Image credit - WasteShark\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHardiman developed an unmanned robot, an aqua drone that cruises around urban waters such as harbours, marinas and canals, eating up marine litter like a Roomba of the sea. The waste is collected in a basket which the WasteShark then brings back to shore to be emptied, sorted and recycled.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe design of the autonomous drone is modelled on a whale shark, the ocean\u2019s largest known fish. These giant filter feeders swim around with their mouths open and lazily eat whatever crosses their path.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s powered by rechargeable electric batteries, ensuring that it doesn\u2019t pollute the environment through oil spillage or exhaust fumes, and it is relatively silent, avoiding noise pollution. It produces zero carbon emissions and the device moves quite slowly, allowing fish and birds to merely swim away when it gets too close for comfort.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We\u2019ve tested it in areas of natural beauty and natural parks where we know it doesn\u2019t harm the wildlife,\u2019 said Hardiman. \u2018We\u2019re quite fortunate in that, all our research shows that it doesn\u2019t affect the wildlife around.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022twitter-video\u0022 data-lang=\u0022en\u0022\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022 lang=\u0022en\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WasteShark?src=hash\u0026amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\u0022\u003E#WasteShark\u003C\/a\u003E chomping floating plastic! \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Turnthetideonoplastic?src=hash\u0026amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\u0022\u003E#Turnthetideonoplastic\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/plasticfree?src=hash\u0026amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\u0022\u003E#plasticfree\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/plasticpollution?src=hash\u0026amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\u0022\u003E#plasticpollution\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Plasticsoup?src=hash\u0026amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\u0022\u003E#Plasticsoup\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/t.co\/zgnKEutWGX\u0022\u003Epic.twitter.com\/zgnKEutWGX\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u2014 RanMarine Technology (@RanMarineTech) \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/RanMarineTech\/status\/956903902917603328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\u0022\u003EJanuary 26, 2018\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EWasteShark\u0027s\u0026nbsp;autonomous drone is modelled on a whale shark. Credit - \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ranmarine.io\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003ERanMarine Technology\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWasteShark is one of a number of new inventions designed to tackle the problem of marine litter. A project\u0026nbsp;called CLAIM\u0026nbsp;is developing\u0026nbsp;five different kinds of technology, one of which is a plasma-based tool called a pyrolyser.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EUseful gas\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECLAIM\u2019s pyrolyser will use heat treatment to break down marine litter to a useful gas. Plasma is basically ionised gas, capable of reaching very high temperatures of thousands of degrees. Such heat can break chemical bonds between atoms, converting waste into a type of gas called syngas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe pyrolyser will be mounted onto a boat collecting floating marine litter - mainly large items of plastic which, if left in the sea, will decay into microplastic - so that the gas can then be used as an eco-friendly fuel to power the boat, or to provide energy for heating in ports.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Nikoleta Bellou of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, one of the project coordinators of CLAIM, said: \u2018We know that we humans are actually the key drivers for polluting our oceans. Unlike organic material, plastic never disappears in nature and it accumulates in the environment, especially in our oceans. It poses a threat not only to the health of our oceans and to the coasts but to humans, and has social, economic and ecological impacts.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers chose areas in the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas to act as their case studies throughout the project, and will develop models that can tell scientists which areas are most likely to become litter hotspots. A range of factors influence how littered a beach may be \u2013 it\u2019s not only affected by litter louts in the surrounding area but also by circulating winds and currents which can carry litter great distances, dumping the waste on some particular beaches rather than others.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECLAIM\u0027s other methods to tackle plastic pollution include a boom \u2013 a series of nets criss-crossing a river that catches all the large litter that would otherwise travel to the sea. The nets are then emptied and the waste\u0026nbsp;is collected for treatment with the pyrolyser. There have been problems with booms in the past, when bad weather conditions cause the nets to overload and break, but CLAIM will use automated cameras and other sensors that could alert relevant authorities when the nets are full.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMicroplastics\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELarge plastic pieces that can be scooped out of the water are one thing, but tiny particles known as microplastics that are less than 5mm wide pose a different problem. Scientists on the GoJelly project are using a surprising ingredient to create a filter that prevents microplastics from entering the sea - jellyfish slime.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe filter will be deployed at waste water management plants, a known source of microplastics. The method has already proven to be successful in the lab, and now GoJelly is planning to upscale the biotechnology for industrial use.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Jamileh Javidpour of the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, who coordinates the project, said: \u2018We have to be innovative to stop microplastics from entering the ocean.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe GoJelly project kills two birds with one stone \u2013 tackling the issue of microplastics while simultaneously addressing the problem of jellyfish blooms, where the creatures reproduce in high enough levels to blanket an area of ocean.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u0026#039;We have to be innovative to stop microplastics from entering the ocean.\u0026#039;\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Jamileh Javidpour, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJellyfish are one of the most ancient creatures on the planet, having swum in Earth\u2019s oceans during the time of the dinosaurs. On the whole, due to a decline in natural predators and changes in the environment, they are thriving. When they bloom, jellyfish can attack swimmers and fisheries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFishermen often throw caught jellyfish back into the sea as a nuisance\u0026nbsp;but, according to Dr Javidpour, jellyfish can be used much more sustainably. Not only can their slime be used to filter out microplastics, they can also be used as feed for aquaculture, for collagen in anti-ageing products, and even in food.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn fact, part of the GoJelly project involves producing a cookbook, showing people how to make delicious dishes from jellyfish. While Europeans may not be used to cooking with jellyfish, in many Asian cultures they are a daily staple. However, Dr Javidpour stresses that the goal is not to replace normal fisheries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We are mainly ecologists, we know the role of jellyfish as part of a healthy ecosystem,\u2019 she said. \u2018We don\u2019t want to switch from classical fishery to jellyfish fishery, but it is part of our task to investigate if it is doable, if it is sustainable.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe research in this article has been funded by the EU. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022moreinfoblock\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3\u003EOcean Plastics Lab\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EAn international travelling exhibition that aims to draw attention to the problem of plastic waste in our oceans will set up a temporary home in front of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, from 9-19 April 2018.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe idea is to involve the public in the scientific work being done in Europe and around the world to tackle the problem, and demonstrate the fundamental role of science in finding solutions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe exhibition will travel to Washington DC, US, in June and from there to Canada.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor more information, visit: \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/oceanplasticslab.net\/\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/oceanplasticslab.net\/\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/bit.ly\/newsalertsignup\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cimg class src=\u0022https:\/\/horizon-magazine.eu\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/news-alert-final.jpg\u0022 alt width=\u0022983\u0022 height=\u0022222\u0022\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-pbuebty8k7tuxd9l6buqevic00k34i7tnxpxlpfg9ik\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-PBUebTY8k7Tuxd9l6BUQeVic00k34I7tNxPXlpFG9Ik\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]