Marine Plastic Debris

2020 ◽  
pp. 94-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Reza Cordova
Keyword(s):  
Marine Pollution ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Plastic Debris ◽  
Outreach Programs ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Behavior Science ◽  
Laws And Policies ◽  
The Right ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Marine Plastic Debris

Marine pollution due to littering from anthropogenic activities is a serious global environmental problem—the main reason accumulation of debris in the environment, including in the ocean. There is a significant hazard coming from plastic debris. Besides entanglement and ingestion, marine plastics debris has more complex problems and can release additional and by-product chemical substances. If we keep producing and not doing anything, a recent study said by 2050 there would be three times more plastic than fish in the ocean. We only have a limited understanding of marine plastic debris distribution, implication, fate, and behavior. Science is the key to getting the right alternative for processing debris. To prevent marine pollution successfully requires education and outreach programs, strong laws and policies, and law enforcement for government and private institutions. This chapter explores marine plastic debris.

Detecting and Classifying Marine Plastic Debris from high-resolution multispectral satellite data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aikaterini Kikaki ◽  
Ioannis Kakogeorgiou ◽  
Paraskevi Mikeli ◽  
Dionysios E. Raitsos ◽  
Konstantinos Karantzalos
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Satellite Data ◽  
Marine Pollution ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Marine Debris ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Plastic Debris ◽  
Machine Learning Classification ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Marine Plastic Debris

<p>Plastic debris in the global ocean is considered an essential issue with severe implications for human health and marine ecosystems. Remote sensing is a useful tool for detecting and identifying marine pollution; however, there are still few studies and benchmark datasets for developing monitoring solutions for marine plastic debris detection from high-resolution satellite data.</p><p>Here, we present an annotated plastic debris dataset from different geographical regions, seasons, and years, including annotations for sea surface features (e.g., foam), objects (e.g., ship) and floating macroalgae species such as Sargassum. Our dataset is based on high-resolution multispectral satellite observations collected mainly for the period 2014-2020 over the Gulf of Honduras (Caribbean Sea). Over this region, large plastic debris masses and Sargassum macroalgae blooms have been frequently reported, suggesting that it is an ideal region to examine satellite sensors' effectiveness in plastic debris identification, as well as monitoring along with sea surface circulation and meteorological data.</p><p>We also present a set of machine learning classification frameworks for marine debris detection on high-resolution satellite imagery, comparing qualitatively and quantitatively their overall performance. The new algorithms were validated against different regions that have been reported as major plastic polluted areas, as well as their performance was compared to well-established FAI and new promising FDI. This benchmark study can trigger more research and developement efforts towards the systematic detection and monitoring of marine plastic pollution.</p>

Tickets for the Inclusive Museum

2020 ◽  
pp. 390-406
Author(s):  
Magda Nikolaraizi ◽  
Charikleia Kanari ◽  
Marc Marschark
Keyword(s):  
Hard Of Hearing ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Participatory Learning ◽  
Maximum Benefit ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Right ◽  
Physical Features ◽  
And Behavior

In recent years, museums of various kinds have broadened their mission and made systematic efforts to develop a dynamic role in learning by offering a wide range of less formal experiences for individuals with diverse characteristics, including individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH). Despite the worthwhile efforts, in the case of DHH individuals, museums frequently neglect to consider their unique communication, cognitive, cultural, and learning characteristics, thus limiting their access and opportunities for fully experiencing what museums have to offer. This chapter examines the potential for creating accessible museum environments and methods that reflect an understanding of the diverse communication, cognitive, cultural, and learning needs of DHH visitors, all of which enhance their access and participation in the museum activities. The role of the physical features of museum spaces for the access and behavior of DHH visitors is emphasized, together with attention to exhibition methods and the communication and cognitive challenges that need to be considered so DHH visitors can get the maximum benefit. The chapter emphasizes the right of individuals who are DHH to nonformal learning and analyzes how museums could become more accessible to DHH individuals by designing, from the beginning, participatory learning experiences that address their diverse needs.

Exploring User Information Needs in Online Pet Adoption Profiles

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 1308-1312
Author(s):  
Zoe M. Becerra ◽  
Sweta Parmar ◽  
Keenan May ◽  
Rachel E. Stuck
Keyword(s):  
Information Needs ◽  
Online Shopping ◽  
Physical Characteristics ◽  
User Needs ◽  
User Group ◽  
Animal Shelters ◽  
Types Of Information ◽  
The Right ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Level Of Importance

With the increase of online shopping, animal shelters can use websites to allow potential adopters to view adoptable animals and increase the number of adoptions. However, little research has evaluated the information needs of this user group. This study conducted a user needs analysis to determine the types of information potential adopters want when searching for a new pet, specifically a cat or dog. Twenty-six participants ranked different behavioral and physical characteristics based on the level of importance and identified their top five overall characteristics. In general, cat adopters ranked the cat’s personality and behavior to be very important and dog adopters found physical characteristics highly important. This study shows the importance of understanding potential adopters’ needs to provide relevant and valued information on online pet adoption profiles. The recommendations and insights can be used to develop pet profiles that meet adopters’ needs and help adopters find the right pet.

scholarly journals Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of marine plastic debris

Fuel ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 257 ◽  
pp. 116033 ◽  
Author(s):  
María E. Iñiguez ◽  
Juan A. Conesa ◽  
Andrés Fullana
Keyword(s):  
Hydrothermal Carbonization ◽  
Plastic Debris ◽  
Marine Plastic Debris

scholarly journals Understanding the Fragmentation Pattern of Marine Plastic Debris

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (11) ◽  
pp. 5668-5675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra ter Halle ◽  
Lucie Ladirat ◽  
Xavier Gendre ◽  
Dominique Goudouneche ◽  
Claire Pusineri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fragmentation Pattern ◽  
Plastic Debris ◽  
Marine Plastic Debris

scholarly journals Looking for Safety in All the Right Places: When Threatening Political Reality Strengthens Family Relationship Bonds

2021 ◽  
pp. 194855062110183
Author(s):  
Sandra L. Murray ◽  
Mark D. Seery ◽  
Veronica M. Lamarche ◽  
Han Young Jung ◽  
Thomas L. Saltsman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Longitudinal Studies ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Social Bonds ◽  
Family Relationship ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Political Reality ◽  
The Right ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Political Realities

Elections and pandemics highlight how much one’s safety depends on fellow community members, a realization that is especially threatening when this collective perceives political realities inconsistent with one’s own. Two longitudinal studies examined how people restored safety to social bonds when everyday experience suggested that fellow community members inhabited inconsistent realities. We operationalized consensus political realities through the negativity of daily nationwide social media posts mentioning President Trump (Studies 1 and 2), and the risks of depending on fellow community members through the pending transition to a divided Congress during the 2018 election season (Study 1), and escalating daily U.S. COVID-19 infections (Study 2). On days that revealed people could not count on fellow community members to perceive the same reality of President Trump’s stewardship they perceived, being at greater risk from the judgment and behavior of the collective community motivated people to find greater happiness in their family relationships.

Open Democracy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélène Landemore
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Democratic Representation ◽  
The People ◽  
Laws And Policies ◽  
The Right ◽  
Turn Over ◽  
The Ideal ◽  
Ordinary Citizens

To the ancient Greeks, democracy meant gathering in public and debating laws set by a randomly selected assembly of several hundred citizens. To the Icelandic Vikings, democracy meant meeting every summer in a field to discuss issues until consensus was reached. Our contemporary representative democracies are very different. Modern parliaments are gated and guarded, and it seems as if only certain people — with the right suit, accent, wealth, and connections — are welcome. Diagnosing what is wrong with representative government and aiming to recover some of the lost openness of ancient democracies, this book presents a new paradigm of democracy in which power is genuinely accessible to ordinary citizens. This book favors the ideal of “representing and being represented in turn” over direct-democracy approaches. Supporting a fresh nonelectoral understanding of democratic representation, the book recommends centering political institutions around the “open mini-public” — a large, jury-like body of randomly selected citizens gathered to define laws and policies for the polity, in connection with the larger public. It also defends five institutional principles as the foundations of an open democracy: participatory rights, deliberation, the majoritarian principle, democratic representation, and transparency. The book demonstrates that placing ordinary citizens, rather than elites, at the heart of democratic power is not only the true meaning of a government of, by, and for the people, but also feasible and, today more than ever, urgently needed.

scholarly journals Predicting current and future background ion concentrations in German surface water under climate change

2018 ◽  
Vol 374 (1764) ◽  
pp. 20180004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trong Dieu Hien Le ◽  
Mira Kattwinkel ◽  
Klaus Schützenmeister ◽  
John R. Olson ◽  
Charles P. Hawkins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Running Water ◽  
Ion Concentrations ◽  
Freshwater Organisms ◽  
Global Environmental Issue ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Major Factors

Salinization of surface waters is a global environmental issue that can pose a regional risk to freshwater organisms, potentially leading to high environmental and economic costs. Global environmental change including climate and land use change can increase the transport of ions into surface waters. We fit both multiple linear regression (LR) and random forest (RF) models on a large spatial dataset to predict Ca 2+ (266 sites), Mg 2+ (266 sites), and (357 sites) ion concentrations as well as electrical conductivity (EC—a proxy for total dissolved solids with 410 sites) in German running water bodies. Predictions in both types of models were driven by the major factors controlling salinity including geologic and soil properties, climate, vegetation and topography. The predictive power of the two types of models was very similar, with RF explaining 71–76% of the spatial variation in ion concentrations and LR explaining 70–75% of the variance. Mean squared errors for predictions were all smaller than 0.06. The factors most strongly associated with stream ion concentrations varied among models but rock chemistry and climate were the most dominant. The RF model was subsequently used to forecast the changes in EC that were likely to occur for the period of 2070 to 2100 in response to just climate change—i.e. no additional effects of other anthropogenic activities. The future forecasting shows approximately 10% and 15% increases in mean EC for representative concentration pathways 2.6 and 8.5 (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5) scenarios, respectively. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Salt in freshwaters: causes, ecological consequences and future prospects’.

scholarly journals Sex differences in neural and behavioral signatures of cooperation revealed by fNIRS hyperscanning

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph M. Baker ◽  
Ning Liu ◽  
Xu Cui ◽  
Pascal Vrticka ◽  
Manish Saggar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Behavioral Signatures ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Brain And Behavior ◽  
The Right ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Researchers from multiple fields have sought to understand how sex moderates human social behavior. While over 50 years of research has revealed differences in cooperation behavior of males and females, the underlying neural correlates of these sex differences have not been explained. A missing and fundamental element of this puzzle is an understanding of how the sex composition of an interacting dyad influences the brain and behavior during cooperation. Using fNIRS-based hyperscanning in 111 same- and mixed-sex dyads, we identified significant behavioral and neural sex-related differences in association with a computer-based cooperation task. Dyads containing at least one male demonstrated significantly higher behavioral performance than female/female dyads. Individual males and females showed significant activation in the right frontopolar and right inferior prefrontal cortices, although this activation was greater in females compared to males. Female/female dyad’s exhibited significant inter-brain coherence within the right temporal cortex, while significant coherence in male/male dyads occurred in the right inferior prefrontal cortex. Significant coherence was not observed in mixed-sex dyads. Finally, for same-sex dyads only, task-related inter-brain coherence was positively correlated with cooperation task performance. Our results highlight multiple important and previously undetected influences of sex on concurrent neural and behavioral signatures of cooperation.

scholarly journals The site Vavilino 1 on the right bank of the Derkul River in Western Kazakhstan (materials of 2018)

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 166-173
Author(s):  
Talgat Basarbaevich Mamirov
Keyword(s):  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Stone Age ◽  
Cultural Layer ◽  
Stone Artifacts ◽  
The Past ◽  
Western Kazakhstan ◽  
The Right ◽  
Bone Remains ◽  
Excavation Area

The paper is devoted to preliminary data from a study of the Vavilino 1 site in Western Kazakhstan. The monument was first opened by N.M. Malov in 1986, later he picked artifacts from the surface in 1988. In 1991 N.L. Morgunova carried out excavations on the site, which showed the importance of this monument study to understand the Neolithic Volga-Ural interfluve. The monument is located on the right bank of the Derkul River and is currently classified as an emergency. In 2018, employees of the Institute of Archeology named after A.Kh. Margulan in the framework of the Stone Age study in Western Kazakhstan started to work on the monuments of Yeshkitau, Derkul 1 and Vavilino 1. At the Vavilino 1 site a small excavation area - 16 square meters was made, more than a thousand stone artifacts were received; fragments of ceramics and bone remains of animals were poorly diagnosed. Excavations have shown the presence of a 15-20 cm thick cultural layer belonging to the Neolithic time. The upper layer of the monument with a capacity of up to 30 cm was destroyed by anthropogenic activities in the past century. The material from the cultural layer is not numerous; tip scrapers, fragments of plates with retouching, geometrical microliths, prismatic nucleus for plates, etc. are typologically distinguished.

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