The project will be one of the first river projects The Ocean Cleanup is undertaking while scaling up to tackle the 1000 heaviest polluting rivers in the world.
In some settings, ship noise is known to affect whale behavior and the permanent network of hydrophones operated by the OOI and Ocean Networks Canada will provide an opportunity to study whether whales are avoiding the shipping lanes to Asia.
New research has revealed the highest levels of microplastic yet recorded on the seafloor, with up to 1.9 million pieces in an area of just one square metre.
From hydrophones attached to buoys or autonomous vehicles, to a passive acoustic monitoring system, WHOI scientists and engineers have developed innovative methods to monitor marine mammals in real time.