SUPER HI-CAT: Difference between revisions

The SUPER HI-CAT research cruise was the first effort to study the [[microbial communities]] and the [[biogeochemistry]] associated with the [[Great Pacific Garbage Patch]].[1] The study was conducted aboard the [[RV Kilo Moana (T-AGOR-26)]] between August 25, 2008 and September 5, 2008 by researchers from [[UHUniversity of Hawaiʻi at ManoaMānoa]], [[Oregon State University]], and the [[Algalita Marine Research Foundation]].<ref>Altonn, Helen .[http://archives.starbulletin.com/2008/08/24/news/story04.html "Marine garbage: UH TEAM researches effects of trash"], ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'', August 24, 2008 </ref>

Previous research on the Plastic Patch had mostly focused on the effects of the plastic pieces on [[jellyfish]], [[fish]], [[sea turtles]], and [[seabirds]]. Relatively little was known about how this type of [[marine debris]] would affect the microbial communities that make up 98% of the [[biomass]] in the ocean and control oceanic biogeochemistry.<ref>[http://www.hawaii.edu/newsatuh/2008/0825/printable.php "Researching the Garbage Patch"]{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''News at UH'', August 25, 2008 </ref> During this cruise, 30 sites were sampled. At 15 of these sites, a modified surface net called a [[manta trawl]]<ref>Bialik, Carl. [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123793936249132307 "How Big Is That Widening Gyre of Floating Plastic? "], ''The Wall Street Journal'', March 25, 2009 </ref> was used to collect plastic pieces, while water samples were collected from the upper 200 meters of the ocean. At the other 15 stations, only the surface waters were sampled. This study will allow researchers to begin to determine whether [[biofilms]] are forming on the plastic particles, whether the microbes living on the particles are different from the free-living [[planktonic]] organisms, and what effect these communities might have on the oceanic [[carbon cycle]] and [[nitrogen cycle]].

[*{{Official|http://hahana.soest.hawaii.edu/cmoresuperhicat/superhicat.html cruise page and data links]}}