The NMC welcomed federal, state, tribal and local water professionals, non-profits, academia, and volunteer citizen scientists, and featured two sessions on microplastics and macro-debris.

As part of these sessions, Sherry Lippiatt highlighted the Marine Debris Program’s Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project (MDMAP). As the Program’s MDMAP lead, Sherry shared an overview of the project and recent data analysis efforts, including an assessment of the arrival of debris from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, outcomes from a partnership with the Ocean Conservancy and  the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation to assess the Status of Marine Debris on U.S. Shorelines, and a six-year shoreline monitoring partnership with the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. The marine debris sessions were standing-room only, indicative of the growing interest in marine debris and microplastics among the water quality monitoring community.

For more information, contact Sherry.Lippiatt@noaa.gov.

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