The spill, reported on Jan 25, originated from an underwater pipeline leak. The pipeline was owned and operated by Thailand-based Star Petroleum Refining (PLC) company that reported the incident in late January. The incident was said to have spilled around 40,000 to 50,000 litres of oil into the ocean. Clean up efforts are underway to deal with the crude oil slick at sea and along beaches on the mainland. This is however not the first time that this has happened, as Thailand has recorded 200 oil spills in the past century. Environmental groups have called on Thailand's government to transition the country away from oil and gas to better implement preventative measures to avoid future disasters.
That is however not the worst part of the oil spill, as the pipe that has leaked the oil is near Khao Laem Ya-Koh Samet National Park. This national park is designated for its coral reef and seagrass beds, and it only lies 25 kilometres from the sire of the spill. While the company has said it had quickly brought the lead under control by Jan 26, it has so far failed to confirm the total volume of crude oil that spilled into the ocean. "The information about the volume of oil spilled has been inconsistent," Tara Buakiamsri, country director of Greenpeace Thailand. But the scale of the oil slick on the surface of the water several days indicates that the volume of the oil spill must have emitted more the 50,000 Litres. As the oil spill reaches 16-square-kilometers in between the mainland and Koh Samet the further long-term impact on marine ecosystem and local livelihoods becomes more apparent. The immediate aftermath of the leak will affect wildlife and the national park. Royal Thai Navy clean ups groups used vessels equipped with chemicals to disperse the slick and spray. This however only breaks down the oil into smaller droplets and doesn't help the clean-up as more and more oil spills onto the shoreside. Further Reading: https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/gulf-of-thailand-oil-pipeline-leak-threatens-reef-rich-marine-park/#:~:text=The%20spill%2C%20reported%20late%20on,oil%20leaked%20into%20the%20ocean.
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Every time Trần Văn Cường from Phú Vang District, goes fishing he collects lots of plastic waste in order to raise funds for his students, all the while protecting the ocean from plastic pollution. Over the past 20 years while fishing Cường has noticed a lot of trash in the ocean saying “I thought that if garbage was dumped into the sea, sooner or later the environment would be polluted, and the source of fish and shrimp would gradually become exhausted. So, I decided to pick it up and put it on the ship and carry it ashore. I have done this for many years,” Always picking up the plastic waste from the ocean earned him the nickname 'crazy guy' from the locals. But he doesn't think it's crazy For a long time Cường has used the idea of recycling plastic to make flood proof boats for the poor. Therefore contributing to the protection of the ocean and providing safe transport for people during the flood season. “Now, there are not as many fish and shrimp as before. About 50 percent is seafood, the remaining 50 percent is garbage. On many trips to the sea, we pick up more trash than fish,” Cường said. “The situation of plastic waste has lessened due to the effect of the ‘Green Sunday Movement’ launched by the Thừa Thiên Huế provincial People’s Committee. However, the change is not much. Many fishermen clinging to the sea like me are worried about the widespread plastic waste,” Cường also said. “Every day, people throw trash into the sea, and soon the sea surface turns into a garbage dump. As every household living near the sea does this, others follow. It’s sad to see this. Garbage on the shore could be treated by faster, easier ways such as placing public rubbish bins in convenient areas on the beach. Sometimes, volunteer groups come to clean up the trash. But with garbage floating in the sea it comes to an end.” In the rainy season when boats can not fish and no one is there to collect the waste, it piles up and makes its way to shore. Tourists are also not aware of the problem about waste, and contribute more to the waste on the shore. As was stated in the beginning Cường long thought about using the plastic he found the raise funds for children and in turn raise awareness. “Since knowing that I launched the movement to collect plastic waste to recycle and sell for charity, there have been many organizations wanting to cooperate in promoting the movement of collecting plastic waste at sea,” he said. Cường also believes that there is no better way to save the ocean than raising funds and awareness. If ‘Crazy’ people such as Cường continue to do their part the ocean could be a lot cleaner. By Quinn
Bibliography News/Asia, Nam. “Vietnam’s ‘Crazy Guy’ Aims to Save Ocean from Waste.” INQUIRER.net, Jan. 2022, newsinfo.inquirer.net/1542536/vietnams-crazy-guy-aims-to-save-ocean-from-waste. Accessed 20 Jan. 2022. Writer - Philipp Lux The mysterious "Twilight" coral reef was found by a group of divers near the coast of Tahiti. The coral structure was found by a mapping expedition alongside of the island. The Team of divers were swimming at 30 meters depth when they stumbled upon the acres of giant, pristine, rose-shaped corals blossoming at the Twilight zone. The Twilight zone got its nickname for its deep depth, just at the point of the ocean where light still shines. The Reef is a wonder to most marine scientists as these rare corals are in pristine condition when at the depth of 30-70 m depth.
Most coral reefs that are present today are being harmed by the heat crisis and waste from humans. Scientist predicts that 70 - 90 % of all corals reefs will be eradicated in the next 20 years due to coral bleaching. Therefore, the marine biologists want to keep this amazing find in the most pristine condition for better marine structure and a hope for further coral growth. With only 25% of the ocean map ranging from 30 to 60 m, it was quite puzzling to find a coral reef that stretched to such a wide depth. Most coral structure only grow to the depth of 30 meters, as there it has the optimal current and sunlight for the best growth. This twilight coral structure just has enough sunlight to be able to continue growing. "We think that deeper reefs may be better protected from global warming," said Laetitia Hédouin, a marine biologist with the French National Centre of Scientific Research and the environmental research centre. The Coral reef will continue to thrive if no harm is done to it. The hope is to find more of these exceptional reefs at 30-70 meter depth, so there is some hope to fight against the coral destruction. For more information: CNN article | Rare Coral Reef : https://edition.cnn.com/2022/01/19/world/coral-reef-tahiti-twilight-zone-climate-scn/index.html A continuing collection by - Anna Lena Lux (NIST Y13 Film student) How Autonomous computers will help with mapping the sea bed -Writer - Quinn Sheridan Imagine the long hours it takes to map the seafloor. You need enough fuel to make it where you need to be and back, as well as food and equipment for your crew. Since the ocean floor makes up for 71% of the surface of the earth, this process would take decades. Larry Mayer, the director of the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping at the University of New Hampshire has run the calculations and estimates that it would take hundreds of millions of hours to create a detailed map of the ocean floor. So without a different take on the massive achievement, it won’t happen in the next thousand years. With this information, oceanographers have turned to autonomous or self-driving technology drawing inspiration from self-driving cars. By using robotic, wind, and solar-powered boats, Mayer says “you can be out for six, seven months at a time working 24 hours a day. There’s a phenomenal efficiency gain, in terms of the amount of mapping you can do.” So far the ocean has only been 20.6% mapped which, compared to the 2018s figure of 6.9% is a huge achievement. But compared to the amount of Mars we have mapped which is almost 90% it’s feeble. With the large difference between the amount of Mars that is mapped and the ocean, it is becoming increasingly more obvious that we need to focus our attention on the ocean since it could hold much more information than we know. Such as faster trade routes as well as finding new species and learning more about our planet’s underwater ecosystem. This problem can be compared to driving back when there were no street maps as well as no highly accurate GPS. Nowadays it’s hard to understand what are the correct trade routes and travel routes if we don’t know where we are going. The UN saw this problem and took action setting a target date for 2030 for the completion of a detailed 3D image of the ocean floor. “We have a tremendous amount to learn from the automotive industry,” says Mayer, “in terms of the overall technologies of machine learning and situational awareness.” Mayer now works with NOAA and Seabed 2030 to produce the definitive map of the ocean. When mapping out the ocean the oceanographers use two types of autonomous vehicles Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) and Unmanned Surface Vessels (USV). The USV can cover a lot more ground but does not have the amount of detail that an AUV has. Unlike Self driving cars AUVs and USVs can not use the light based mapping tools. Instead they have to use lidar for close-range detection, as well as dual-range radar, and 360-degree camera systems. With these AUVs can create perfect high resolution 3D maps. The only problem is the dynamic environments since they do not know what kind of environment they are deploying the ships into.
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The current device has been improved multiple times since the original prototype and is essentially an artificial coastline in a 100 m U-shape, that is pulled by two boats at a speed of only 5 knots (less than average walking speed) and funnels garbage into a net. Once it is full, the plastic is collected on the larger boat and taken to shore where it is separated by the team. |
Some materials are recycled to make products such as sunglasses. The team estimated that it would need about 10 Jennys to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage patch as a single device can hold up to 10,000 - 15,000 kg of plastic. However, there are still major concerns about the efficiency of this device as it can only collect plastic on the surface of the ocean. |
Recent studies show that 30 times more of the oceans plastic is found at the bottom of the ocean. Naturally the jenny device does not prevent more plastic from entering the oceans and about 11 million tons are dumped into the ocean per year (Bendix, 2021).
Sources:
Bendix, A. (2021, October 15). A half-mile installation just took 20,000 pounds of plastic out of the Pacific - proof that ocean garbage can be cleaned. Business Insider. Retrieved October 20, 2021, from https://www.businessinsider.com/ocean-cleanup-device-removed-plastic-pacific-garbage-patch-2021-10.
Koop, F. (2021, October 19). This device just cleaned up 9,000 kilograms of trash out of the Ocean. ZME Science. Retrieved October 20, 2021, from https://www.zmescience.com/science/this-device-just-cleaned-up-9000-kilograms-of-trash-out-of-the-ocean/.
Bendix, A. (2021, October 15). A half-mile installation just took 20,000 pounds of plastic out of the Pacific - proof that ocean garbage can be cleaned. Business Insider. Retrieved October 20, 2021, from https://www.businessinsider.com/ocean-cleanup-device-removed-plastic-pacific-garbage-patch-2021-10.
Koop, F. (2021, October 19). This device just cleaned up 9,000 kilograms of trash out of the Ocean. ZME Science. Retrieved October 20, 2021, from https://www.zmescience.com/science/this-device-just-cleaned-up-9000-kilograms-of-trash-out-of-the-ocean/.
Wadden Sea: Home of the Tides
The Wadden Sea is an intertidal region located along the coast connecting the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. Shaped largely by the tides and sediment deposit, it is a mudflats and sand environment that is largely the size of Kosovo. The flat and coastal wetland is formed by the interactions between the biological factors in the tidal channels, sandy shores and seagrass meadows and the dunes that make up the characteristic landscape of this environment.
It is the largest unbroken area of its kind and is home to many importing groups of migratory birds and 100 different species of worms and more than 10,000 species of animals and plants. The salt marshes provide support for migratory birds and up to 6 million birds pass through this area each year, which connects the Waddensea to the rest of the global diversity as the birds that nest, and feed in these waters are essential to the worldwide biodiversity of the oceans. The most memorable inhabitants of this coastline that visitors remember are the grey seals, also known as true seals or earless seals, which have become the region's icons and a popular tourist attraction.
The key threats that this environment faces are the development of harbours along the coast and the fishing activities that cause maritime traffic together with tourism developments and impacts from climate change. NGOs working on protecting the natural coastal environment and declaring natural zones are trying to preserve this unique environment. If you ever find yourselves around the northern part of Germany, the Netherlands or the west coast of Denmark, be sure to give this ocean environment a visit!
The key threats that this environment faces are the development of harbours along the coast and the fishing activities that cause maritime traffic together with tourism developments and impacts from climate change. NGOs working on protecting the natural coastal environment and declaring natural zones are trying to preserve this unique environment. If you ever find yourselves around the northern part of Germany, the Netherlands or the west coast of Denmark, be sure to give this ocean environment a visit!
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Images: Anna Lena Lux
Sources for facts:
Centre, U. N. E. S. C. O. W. H. (2009). Wadden Sea. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved October 20, 2021, from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1314.
Germany, R. I. (2021). The Wadden Sea – a place of natural and cultural extremes. The Wadden Sea – a place of natural and cultural extremes - Research in Germany. Retrieved October 20, 2021, from https://www.research-in-germany.org/en/infoservice/newsletter/newsletter-2021/june-2021/the-wadden-sea-a-place-of-natural-and-cultural-extremes_livingingermany_.html.
Images: Anna Lena Lux
Sources for facts:
Centre, U. N. E. S. C. O. W. H. (2009). Wadden Sea. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved October 20, 2021, from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1314.
Germany, R. I. (2021). The Wadden Sea – a place of natural and cultural extremes. The Wadden Sea – a place of natural and cultural extremes - Research in Germany. Retrieved October 20, 2021, from https://www.research-in-germany.org/en/infoservice/newsletter/newsletter-2021/june-2021/the-wadden-sea-a-place-of-natural-and-cultural-extremes_livingingermany_.html.
- Writer: Martina Ferri
As we all already know, plastic pollution in the ocean is a threat to humanity and marine life, especially with Thailand being one of the worst marine polluters. According to the Thailand Development Research Institute Thailand is the 10th biggest dumper of plastic waste in the sea. This doesn’t come as a surprise to many of us living here, as we can see plastic being used all around us. Keeping in mind that plastic takes from 20 to 500 years to decompose (Thailand Development Research Institute), does it seem worth it to use so much on a daily basis? Leading Thailand's plastic waste in the sea are bags (13%), straws (10%) and food containers (8%) (Bangkok Post Public Company Limited).
Especially now during covid, plastic waste has drastically increased, due to everyone staying at home. There are three main reasons why there is so much plastic waste pollution, and why the issue has been bypassed for so long. First, disparity. As a result of this poorer communities are left behind, without the resources necessary to manage their waste. Second, a lack of waste-management infrastructures such as bins and trucks for waste collection. Lastly, institutional disregard for waste management, leading to a communal by the community, of discarding waste in the ocean (Thailand Development Research Institute).
However, there are people in Thailand trying their best to help. Paradorn Chulajata is the managing director of Prepack Thailand Co. He was born and raised in Bangkok and has a growing passion for the ocean. He and his family are all passionate about the ocean and regularly go scuba diving. He is part of the founding team that established the first Public-Private Partnership in plastic and waste management in Thailand on June 5, 2018. They have since expanded, and now have partnerships with 42 organizations. The organization consists of improving infrastructure, law & regulation, promotion & education, innovation, and database creation. With the organization following the 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) he stated “Most of the technical innovations, so far, have been in finding the products and markets for the plastic wastes. This includes using plastic waste for road and wood-plastic composite and upcycling for textiles. In my opinion, technical innovation is essential. However, the process of getting the private sector, government, and NGOs to understand and work together to solve the problem is also interesting and necessary.” (“Meet Our Innovator Protecting Our Oceans in Thailand: Paradorn Chulajata”).
A more contemporary example of this is the recycling of fishnets to create Covid protection gear. A new community-based project is paying small-scale fishermen 10 baht (32 cents) per kilogram of discarded nets, or about every one or two, to recycle them into items from push sticks to face shields and disinfectant bottles. Throughout the pandemic, Qualy has shredded 700 kg of nets to make face shields, and alcohol spray bottles as well as push sticks for elevator buttons and ATM machines to avoid contact (Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Juarawee Kittisilpa). This shows how just taking small steps to reduce plastic use, or recycle, can not only lead to helping the environment but was a help to a small community during the tough times of covid.
Especially now during covid, plastic waste has drastically increased, due to everyone staying at home. There are three main reasons why there is so much plastic waste pollution, and why the issue has been bypassed for so long. First, disparity. As a result of this poorer communities are left behind, without the resources necessary to manage their waste. Second, a lack of waste-management infrastructures such as bins and trucks for waste collection. Lastly, institutional disregard for waste management, leading to a communal by the community, of discarding waste in the ocean (Thailand Development Research Institute).
However, there are people in Thailand trying their best to help. Paradorn Chulajata is the managing director of Prepack Thailand Co. He was born and raised in Bangkok and has a growing passion for the ocean. He and his family are all passionate about the ocean and regularly go scuba diving. He is part of the founding team that established the first Public-Private Partnership in plastic and waste management in Thailand on June 5, 2018. They have since expanded, and now have partnerships with 42 organizations. The organization consists of improving infrastructure, law & regulation, promotion & education, innovation, and database creation. With the organization following the 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) he stated “Most of the technical innovations, so far, have been in finding the products and markets for the plastic wastes. This includes using plastic waste for road and wood-plastic composite and upcycling for textiles. In my opinion, technical innovation is essential. However, the process of getting the private sector, government, and NGOs to understand and work together to solve the problem is also interesting and necessary.” (“Meet Our Innovator Protecting Our Oceans in Thailand: Paradorn Chulajata”).
A more contemporary example of this is the recycling of fishnets to create Covid protection gear. A new community-based project is paying small-scale fishermen 10 baht (32 cents) per kilogram of discarded nets, or about every one or two, to recycle them into items from push sticks to face shields and disinfectant bottles. Throughout the pandemic, Qualy has shredded 700 kg of nets to make face shields, and alcohol spray bottles as well as push sticks for elevator buttons and ATM machines to avoid contact (Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Juarawee Kittisilpa). This shows how just taking small steps to reduce plastic use, or recycle, can not only lead to helping the environment but was a help to a small community during the tough times of covid.
Sources:
Thailand Development Research Institute. “Disparity Worsens Ocean Pollution.” Thailand Business News, 8 July 2021, www.thailand-business-news.com/environment/84499-disparity-worsens-ocean-pollution.html.
Bangkok Post Public Company Limited. “Bangkok Post.” Https://Www.bangkokpost.com, 2019, www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/special-reports/1704904/drowning-in-a-sea-of-plastic.
“Meet Our Innovator Protecting Our Oceans in Thailand: Paradorn Chulajata.” World Bank, www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2020/06/05/meet-our-innovator-protecting-our-oceans-in-thailand-paradorn-chulajata.
Patpicha Tanakasempipat, and Juarawee Kittisilpa. “Thailand Is Recycling Its Ocean Plastic to Fight COVID-19.” World Economic Forum, 7 July 2020, www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/thailand-coronavirus-covid19-recyling-innovation-supplies-ocean/.
Thailand Development Research Institute. “Disparity Worsens Ocean Pollution.” Thailand Business News, 8 July 2021, www.thailand-business-news.com/environment/84499-disparity-worsens-ocean-pollution.html.
Bangkok Post Public Company Limited. “Bangkok Post.” Https://Www.bangkokpost.com, 2019, www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/special-reports/1704904/drowning-in-a-sea-of-plastic.
“Meet Our Innovator Protecting Our Oceans in Thailand: Paradorn Chulajata.” World Bank, www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2020/06/05/meet-our-innovator-protecting-our-oceans-in-thailand-paradorn-chulajata.
Patpicha Tanakasempipat, and Juarawee Kittisilpa. “Thailand Is Recycling Its Ocean Plastic to Fight COVID-19.” World Economic Forum, 7 July 2020, www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/thailand-coronavirus-covid19-recyling-innovation-supplies-ocean/.
- Writer: Tilly Handforth
What is OMG?
OMG, which stands for Ocean Marine Guardians, is a service group in NIST International School located in Bangkok with students ranging from year 7 until year 13 with contributions of several elementary classes. Together, as a service group, they aim to preserve the oceans wherever they possibly can. At the service group fair I interviewed a member of OMG and asked her a few questions about the service group goal, personal goals and main topics brought up throughout the fair. She says the main goal for this service group is, “To help save and conserve the ocean ecosystems as much as we can.” Her personal goal is to apply her leadership skills and organize OMG to create an impact and save the oceans. The main topics she brought up to interested people was how OMG is a project based service group, such as organizing, reef cleanup, coral restoration and mangrove planting trips.
Koh Mun Nai trip
Three of our members Victoria, Annabel and Anna Lena, headed off to Pak Nam Prasae for a 2 day trip (16th and 17th of October) with the ATMEC team. They stayed in a homestay called Kook Kik, which is situated close to the pier and restaurants. Friday On the first day the students learnt about the first steps of the EMP (Ecological Monitoring program). Which consists of learning about invertebrate Indicators' species, Fish and Substrates through a lecture, as well as, participating in practical work underwater and tests. Saturday On the second day they boarded the Dive Ventures boat, the SCUBA PRINCESS, going to Koh Mun Nai, meeting the ATMEC team. Once arriving at the first dive site the practical part of the Invertebrate EMP was completed. |
The hungry students got back on the boat and had lunch, while everyone was eating, the Fish EMP lecture was presented, and then the accompanying dive after. In the afternoon everyone went onto the island and set up their tents (provided by ATMEC). Everyone had free time until dinner, after the students took the exam for the EMP, Invertebrates and Fish.
Sunday In the night it had rained, and unfortunately the weather was not suitable for diving. Due to the weather the schedule changed and a lecture about turtles and plastic was given and a tour of the DMCR turtle conservation facility was given to the students, then a tour of the whole island. After lunch an ATMEC instructor took the students on a beach clean up and collected trash and reusable rope for the ATMEC team to use. |
After the beach clean up the students went to the concrete mixing station and got introduced to the Artificial Substrates that ATMEC makes to add to the reef conservation project. Students made concrete structures that would dry over the course of the week. Everyone got cleaned up and packed their luggage. The boat brought the group back to the mainland, ensuring enough time for everyone to get back into Bangkok, taking into account all the variables.
Author
The OMG Newsletter is run by the members of the service group. Topics are taken from the whole world by our researchers and formed into concise articles of our own. We invite experts to bring facts into our educational newsletter, and special contributions of students to showcase their ocean themed comic strip, so that it can be enjoyed by various age groups.
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