logo
OCEAN  SCIENCE  EDUCATION
bridgelogo



Microplastics Awareness Project

Each time you wash your face or brush your teeth, you just may be adding microscopic bits of plastic into the aquatic environment. These tiny particles never biodegrade and are accidentally eaten by marine life, threatening their health. Toxins in the environment are attracted to and can easily adhere to their surface. The Florida Microplastic Awareness Project (FMAP) is a citizen-science project that was funded in 2015 by an outreach and education grant from NOAA's Marine Debris Program. Volunteer citizens are collecting coastal water samples, filtering them and looking for microplastics.

Bridge DATA - Ghostbusting the Chesapeake

Even when crab pots are lost or abandoned at sea, they continue to catch animals. The unintended victims of the pots typically cannot escape, and are trapped until they die. Through a special program at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, scientists are working with watermen to collect derelict, or “ghost,” crab pots and fishing nets that have been lost or abandoned. Students will explore catch data collected by the watermen from the ghost pots.

The Bridge's own DATA Series is made up of lesson plans (DATA Tips) on many ocean science topics that explore the world of water using the language of science: mathematics. Learn more about the DATA Series.

Scripts