The GOES Foundation works to help restore ocean health by monitoring and protecting plankton – the true lungs of our planet. The Global Oceanic Environmental Survey will help understand the number of planktonic plants and animals and the amount of microplastics. From this correlations and patterns will help visualise the invisible. The results will help GOES to better understand what is happening in the deep ocean.
Marine plankton are the lungs for the entire planet, but human pollution has poisoned more than 50% of all life. Other scientific reports show that every particle has the same concentration of a very toxic chemical called Poly Chlorinated Bisphenols (PCBs), whether it is in the North Sea or the Antarctica /Southern Ocean. PCB use has been banned for over 45 years, but these toxic forever chemicals are still being released into the environment, especially in geographies where consumer electronics are being disposed of in less-than-ideal conditions.
A number of yachts on the 2022-23 Oyster World Rally will be collecting plankton and micro-plastic samples as they sail around the world. Twice a day, participants will take a 0.5 litre of sea water, put it through a GOES filter, count plankton, microplastics (fibres and beads) and any other particles which are over 20 microns. The data collected by Oyster World Rally participants will be combined with other data to help visualise a missing part of the ocean jigsaw.
