Last week I was at the AGU Ocean Sciences meeting in Portland Oregon. This meeting took place at the Oregon Convention Center with over 4000 scientists from around the world presenting findings, discussing results, and planning the future of oceanography for the next few years/decades. I was there to present a poster about the work I did over the summer while working at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. That work culminated in the eventual creation of this website.

Some of the most interesting discussion was about the amount of plastic in the ocean, its source, where it is going, the distribution and the possible impacts. After seeing the findings of several independent researchers it became clear to me that the plastics issue is far larger than I previously thought. And, most of the plastic isn’t in large chunks, but rather small microscopic pieces that are not much larger than most plankton (not jellyfish size). Sadly I missed the discussion on ocean acidification.

There were a few people I was eager to meet. Namely, Chris Measures and Jules Hummon. Both of these individuals were featured in the videos on the website that I had edited. Chris Measures has a primary interest in trace metals and coffee. Jules Hummon is more passionate about ADCPs than anyone I have met before. I learned that they were out of Hawaii, so I may have a chance to visit their labs at some point in the future.

In all the meeting was a great experience though a bit tiring. I would do it again if I had the opportunity. And now to play catch up with my schoolwork.

-Andrew