By Olivia Borgula
For Erik van Sebille, studying plastic pollution deepens his understanding of the ocean.
Van Sebille, a Utrecht University professor, presented on Thursday, Oct. 27 about combining ocean physics and statistical inference to determine the origins of microplastics — what he calls the “blame game.” Van Sebille’s talk was part of the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science’s weekly departmental seminar series.
“The plastic pollution that is littering our ocean is an atrocity. And as a society, we should really be ashamed that we let it get so far,” van Sebille said. “On the other hand … if we know, quite well, where all the plastic is, it can help us to improve our capabilities of simulating how the ocean works and provide a better understanding of the dynamics of the ocean.”
Because ocean currents transport plastic vast distances, van Sebille said a method of statistical inference, called Bayesian framework, predicts the source of plastic on beaches.
Van Sebille and his team are using this analytical approach to create an app for the Galápagos Islands. It will tell park rangers, who often have limited time and resources, where the most plastic-heavy spots are, making clean-up more efficient.
“We looked at connectivity between all the islands,” he said. “The question was essentially, what are the most effective places to clean up?”
The second part of the presentation focused on public engagement in the scientific community. Van Sebille posed the question — what are academics’ roles in advocacy?
Van Sebille referenced a study that created a fake Facebook profile of a scientist to measure public perception of credibility. It found that credibility levels did not drop when the scientist discussed activism in addition to recent scientific findings.
“We shouldn’t be too afraid of activism,” he said.
Van Sebille stressed the importance of an informed public during the climate crisis. He said the ocean is a compelling entry point for public engagement in science.
“The ocean is so enigmatic and so exciting and so romantic,” he said. “The ocean is also common. No one owns the ocean. In that sense, it is your shared responsibility, and it’s really something that we have to work together.”
Van Sebille is currently on a sabbatical to learn more about science communications and public engagement. Wanting to be a weather broadcaster, he has always been interested in communications. As an oceanographer, van Sebille has made hundreds of media appearances across international outlets, including a regular guest spot on CNN.
Jacob Wenegrat, an assistant professor in atmospheric and oceanic sciences at the University of Maryland, said presentations like van Sebille’s give students and faculty access to new information, often outside their field of study.
“Academic publishing is a very slow process,” he said. “These sorts of talks are how you find out about what people are working on before it’s published. There’s an educational component for our students, but also, even as faculty, it’s really important opportunities to hear about new work.”
Graham Haederle, a senior majoring in atmospheric and oceanic science and finance, is taking oceanography this semester. He read van Sebille’s paper and was impressed.
“He did a really good job of breaking down the ocean dynamics of how the circulation works,” he said.
Haederle also referenced an idea he found especially interesting in van Sebille’s paper that was not mentioned in the presentation.
“I think [van Sebille said] a wise quote that ‘we know more about Mars than we do about the ocean.’ That’s some of my favorite parts about the seminar talks, as I come in with such a basic understanding [of the subject], and then I realize how it has such a butterfly effect on the world.”
The AOSC departmental seminar series will resume next Thursday, Nov. 3, with Jing Wei discussing artificial intelligence to track air pollution from space.
Featured Image: Van Sebille explains how Bayesian inference can predict source of plastic in the ocean in College Park, Maryland on Oct. 27, 2022.