a. Data collection, including photographs of all particles down to 20 microns taken from the surface of all oceans in 500 ml of water. Currently, 30 yachts cross oceans collecting samples; this number should be increased to 200. This information is not currently being collected.
b. Sample image analysis, as well as the relationship of satellite imagery to the samples. We know that plastic has an indirect impact on water surface roughness, which can be seen from space, but it has not been calibrated or quantified.
c. Particle analysis on collected samples and SML layer analysis: Lipophilic chemicals, black carbon and buoyant microplastics become concentrated in the surface microlayer of the ocean. It returns to land in the form of rainwater from the oceans after a few days, weeks, or years. Studies have already confirmed this for micro- and nanoplastics, but the opportunity must be expanded with surface water samples collected from around the world.
Specifics about the project
The GOES project is a CDCP collaborative data collection project for coastal and oceanic zones for marine plankton, particle pollution from microplastics, and partially combusted carbon. Thirteen yachts contributed to the first Atlantic survey, and we aim to reach 200 vessels. We hope to increase the number to 200 in order to make it the world’s largest oceanic marine research sampling project.
The Phase 1 GOES Report has been completed.
https://goesfoundation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/A-Decline-in-Marine-Biodiversity-Caused-by-Pollution-1.pdf Climate Disruption Caused by a Decline in Marine
Biodiversity and Pollution
Because microplastics and carbon are hydrophobic, they tend to float on the surface of oceanic water. The particles will become concentrated in the SML surface microlayer, which may be as thin as 1 µm to 1000 µm. The SML encompasses all oceans and 71% of the planet. The SML contains omega-3 phytoplankton lipids, surfactants, proteins, carbohydrates, plankton and marine life fragments, as well as lipophilic toxic chemicals, microplastics, and black carbon. The SML layer is essential for ocean survival and plays a significant role in climate regulation, atmospheric water vapour pressure, aerosols, and cloud formation.
Persistent chemicals such as PFAS, PCBs, PBDE flame retardants and pesticides are often many times more concentrated in the surface microlayer. The lipophilic chemicals will be concentrated thousands of times by hydrophobic plastic and carbon particles. These particles enter the food chain of marine zooplankton and protists, and they are also directly toxic to phytoplankton and cyanobacteria. In the open Atlantic, dark combustion-like particles averaged about 64 per litre and plastic fibres about 5 per litre.
Marine plankton are the planet’s life support system and the foundation of the food chain. The SML layer and marine plankton regulate gas and water vapour diffusion into the atmosphere and generate aerosols for water vapour nucleation to form clouds. High-latitude clouds reflect massive amounts of energy back into space. Rainwater is now contaminated with plastic, carbon, and the toxic chemicals found in SML. The oceans regulate up to 80% of our climate; we all rely on them for survival; however, the oceans have been largely ignored as the primary climate regulator. At COP26, I gave the first presentation on the oceans: https://youtu.be/ORGxHr7GqrQ
Ocean acidification is known as the “evil twin” of climate change because the consequences will be far more severe. The IPCC reports ocean acidification with very high confidence, alongside human-caused warming of the climate system. Because of carbon dioxide dissolution through the surface layer, the pH of the ocean is decreasing. Satellite records show no clear fall in chlorophyll over the tropical Atlantic between 1998 and 2025. Most of the Southern Ocean is naturally high-nutrient and low-chlorophyll, because iron limits plant growth there. Many marine animals build shells of aragonite or magnesium calcite, and aragonite dissolves when its saturation state falls below 1. Sensitive animals respond below a saturation of about 1.6, and on present trends about 57% of the mapped winter ocean surface may fall below its threshold by 2045.
There are numerous other issues affecting nature on land and marine life in the oceans. The WWF Living Planet Index shows monitored wildlife populations fell by 73% on average between 1970 and 2020. The situation in the oceans is similar, and the problems are worsening.
Humanity will survive climate change, but not the destruction of nature on land and marine life in the oceans over the next 25 years unless we act now to reverse the damage.