Flotsametrics and the floating world : how one man's obsession with runaway sneakers and rubber ducks revolutionized ocean science

Pioneering oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer unravels the mystery of marine currents, uncovers the astonishing story of flotsam, and changes the world's view of trash, the ocean, and our global environment. Curtis Ebbesmeyer is no ordinary scientist. He's been a consulting oceanographer for multinational firms and a lead scientist on international research expeditions, but he's never held a conventional academic appointment. He seized the world's imagination as no other scientist could when he and his worldwide network of beachcomber volunteers traced the ocean's currents using thousands of sneakers and plastic bath toys spilled from storm-tossed freighters. Now, for the first time, Ebbesmeyer tells the story of his lifelong struggle to solve the sea's mysteries while sharing his most surprising discoveries. He recounts how flotsam has changed the course of history—leading Viking mariners to safe harbors, Columbus to the New World, and Japan to open up to the West—and how it may even have made the origin of life possible. He chases icebergs and floating islands; investigates ocean mysteries from ghost ships to a spate of washed-up severed feet on Canadian beaches; and explores the enormous floating "garbage patches" and waste-heaped "junk beaches" that collect the flotsam and jetsam of industrial society. Finally, Ebbesmeyer reveals the rhythmic and harmonic order in the vast oceanic currents called gyres—"the heartbeat of the world "—and the threats that global warming and disintegrating plastic waste pose to the seas . . . and to us. Pioneering oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer unravels the mystery of marine currents, uncovers the astonishing story of flotsam, and changes the world's view of trash, the ocean, and our global environment.Curtis Ebbesmeyer is no ordinary scientist. He's been a consulting oceanographer for multinational firms and a lead scientist on international research expeditions, but he's never held a conventional academic appointment. He seized the world's imagination as no other scientist could when he and his worldwide network of beachcomber volunteers traced the ocean's currents using thousands of sneakers and plastic bath toys spilled from storm-tossed freighters.Now, for the first time, Ebbesmeyer tells the story of his lifelong struggle to solve the sea's mysteries while sharing his most surprising discoveries. He recounts how flotsam has changed the course of history — leading Viking mariners to safe harbors, Columbus to the New World, and Japan to open up to the West — and how it may even have made the origin of life possible. He chases icebergs and floating islands; investigates ocean mysteries from ghost ships to a spate of washed-up severed feet on Canadian beaches; and explores the enormous floating "garbage patches" and waste-heaped "junk beaches" that collect the flotsam and jetsam of industrial society. Finally, Ebbesmeyer reveals the rhythmic and harmonic order in the vast oceanic currents called gyres — "the heartbeat of the world " — and the threats that global warming and disintegrating plastic waste pose to the seas . . . and to us. Curtis Ebbesmeyer is no ordinary scientist. Though he has degrees in engineering and oceanography, he's never held a traditional academic post, choosing instead to consult, for everyone from the oil companies to Seattle sewage treatment facilities to the Navy, and then, along the way, he's followed his interests, researching many different aspects of ocean currents. In May 1990 a Korean freighter was wracked by a storm and spilled its cargo - over 60,00 Nike sneakers - into the North Pacific. Soon, these sneakers were carried away on the ocean's currents and found washing up on coasts around the world. Ebbesmeyer realized that he could use the exact time and location of the spill, along with the location that each sneaker (conveniently individually tagged) was salvaged to track the ocean current which brought it there!This new science technique quickly captured the imaginations of beachcombers and media around the world, particularly after the spill of 29,000 plastic bath toys in 1992. Ebbesmeyer gathered a worldwide team of volunteers, and continued to search out and document the location at which the objects, set afloat by cargo spills, finally hit the shore. It is a fascinating look at the creativity and energy of a most unusual man - as well as offering an amazing look at what currents have meant for the world and especially mankind through the centuries Ebbesmeyers goal is noble and fresh: to show how the flow of ocean debris around the world reveals the music of the worlds oceans. New York Times Book Review Through the fascinating stories of flotsam, one of the Earths greatest secrets is revealed. In Flotsametrics and the Floating World, maverick scientist Curtis Ebbesmeyer details how his obsession with floating garbagefrom rubber ducks to discarded Nike sneakershelped to revolutionize ocean science. Scientist and environmentalist David Suzuki, host of CBC TVs The Nature of Things, calls Flotsametrics and the Floating World Science and storytelling at its very best. A very enjoyable, if at times dark, book ( Nature ), it is must reading for anyone interested in Oceanography, Environmental Science, and the way our world works.

Pioneering oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer seized the world's imagination when he and his worldwide network of beachcomber volunteers traced ocean currents using thousands of sneakers and plastic bath toys spilled from storm-tossed freighters. Now, for the first time, Ebbesmeyer tells the story of his lifelong quest to solve the sea's mysteries. He recounts how flotsam has changed the course of history. He reveals the rhythmic and harmonic order in the vast oceanic currents and uncovers the astonishing story of flotsam, altering the world's view of trash, the ocean, and our global environment.