IN THE NEWS
Charles and Marie Fish Lecture with Ocean Race winning skipper Charlie Enright
I had the great pleasure to share preliminary results from the 2022-23 Ocean Race with URI colleagues and RI community members at this year’s Charles and Marie Fish Lecture at the University of Rhode Island. Winning Ocean Race skipper Charlie Enright kicked the night off with stories from 11th Hours winning journey around the world. I shared preliminary findings of microplastic contamination in every seawater sample collected during this year’s race, including far from land in the Southern Ocean. Following, URI-GSO Professor Martha McConnell joined us on stage for a moderated Q&A session. It was a great event and I was honored to participate.
Watch the event below:
Ocean Race Update
URI doctoral oceanography student playing key role in microplastics research as part of the ongoing Ocean Race
Aarhus Stopover – Ocean Summit
On June 1, 2023 The Ocean Race held an Ocean Summit at the Aarhus stopover. Attendees included government, civil society and private sector representatives brought together to explore ways in which the international community can protect and regenerate the ocean and recognize its intrinsic rights.
This video, premiered at the event, highlights the science conducted during the race, including the exciting microplastics work I am lucky to be involved in.
Publication Alert
Microplastics hinder the growth of microscopic marine animals
Plastic pollution is not just a problem for larger marine animals. Dinoflagellates, which are single-celled marine predators, can also ingest microplastic which in turn limits their growth and consequently their overall abundance. This has implications for the larger animals that feed on these microscopic predators, in terms of available food and the transfer of energy up the food chain.
Victoria Fulfer 