Download PDF - COINAtlantic

Using a 3D physics-based visualization environment to help citizensunderstand arrival of marine debris moving at different depthsOlympia Koziatek & Nick HedleySpatial Interface Research Lab, Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, V5A 1S6, Canadaoka8@sfu.ca, hedley@sfu.caAbstractThis paper describes research and development of an interactive 3D environment for marine debris arrival visualizationusing a 3D-physics-capable game engine. Accurate spatial data assembled in a GIS was combined with 3Dphysics-based to support open-ended exploration of the relationship between nearshore bathymetry, tidal movement,debris mass, buoyancy, movement and accumulation. This visualization system is aimed at providing citizens with abetter understanding of this complex phenomenon through accessible, interactive marine debris education tools.IntroductionThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), defines debris as “any persistent solid materialthat is manufactured or processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed of or abandonedinto the marine environment or the Great Lakes” (NOAA, 2012). NOAA and other organizations variouslyclassify debris by object type and material. These materials have different masses and buoyancies per unit volume.Debris comes from a variety of sources and events. We view ‘ambient’ marine debris as debris that is graduallyadded to oceans from ongoing natural events and anthropogenic activities (such as debris introduced by shipping andcoastal settlements). Debris can also be added to ocean environments very suddenly, in very large quantities, duringextreme events such as tsunamis.The March 11, 2011 Japanese earthquake and resulting tsunami injected a large quantity of additional debris intothe Pacific Ocean. Models and simulations by the NOAA have predicted several phases of debris movement overseveral years (NOAA Ocean Services, 2012). Determining the total volume of debris (or mass of material) suspendedin ocean water is very difficult. Models can help us delimit the potential spatial and temporal range of these scenarios.However, they remain imperfect estimates of these complex, highly multivariate phenomena. Methods toobserve, detect, measure and quantify marine debris include the use of airborne sensors (Veenstra and Churnside,2012), site studies of debris accumulation on mid-ocean basin islands (Dameron et al., 2007), collating the surveysof teams of volunteers at national scales (Bravo et al., 2009) or ocean basin-scale simulation models (NOAA OceanServices, 2012).NOAA and the University of Hawaii have developed a set of models to estimate the path, duration and quantityof post-tsunami debris moving around the Pacific Basin in the coming years. The first debris ‘surge’ was predicted tohit Hawaii early winter 2012, while the West Coast of Canada and USA are likely to receive a surge of debris arrivalin 2013 (NOAA Ocean Services, 2012). This model is based on the origin of the debris combined with historicalocean currents and wind speed (NOAA Ocean Services, 2012).Problem context: preparing for debris arrival in British ColumbiaAs a coastal province of Canada, British Columbia (BC) faces considerable challenges from marine debris arrival.Ambient marine debris from existing shipping lanes has the potential to be dramatically increased by other forms ofmarine debris, such as oil spills and other unexpected events. While ocean modeling and debris arrival prediction areextremely difficult, we believe there is a need to help communities and citizens understand the way in which posttsunamidebris surges of different buoyancies may arrive and accumulate in British Columbia’s coastal environment.In places such as Hawaii, objects such as soccer balls, and domestic appliances such as fridges have been surfacing(CBC, 2012). Media coverage and environmental monitoring has largely focused on debris that we can see floatingon the surface of the ocean. We have a much poorer understanding of the volume of debris that is moving submergedat various depths.70