Design Approach for the Plastisphere: the Micro, Meso, and Macro

Design Approach for the Plastisphere: the Micro, Meso, and Macro Sarah Rivard | University of Virginia | M.Arch ‘22

I would like to thank to everyone who donated lint to my thesis. Without you, none of this would have been possible

Chemicals, crude oil, microplastic, and more have contaminated Earth’s waters at every scale from the global, to the local, to the body. Microplastic, born from petroleum, synthesized by chemicals, and ubiquitous in its invasion of all habitats and life on Earth, is of particular concern. Even if all production halts today, the existing plastic will take hundreds of years to break down, releasing toxic chemicals as it does. The pervasiveness of microplastic and its interrelated impacts highlights the vast network of Earth’s nested ecologies. Its contamination of human cells, mother’s milk, tap water, coral reefs, and even deep-sea trench beds is proof that extraction, synthesis, manufacture, consumption, use, and waste leads to complex, and often unexpected, consequences. To this end, even the microplastic itself hosts a life-sustaining ecosystem. Plastic is so deeply embedded in the entire networked relational ecosystems that the global ecosystem can now be considered the Plastisphere. Architecture designs the spatial relationship between people and the environment; therefore, we must consider the contamination’s change of the environment in our designs. We need a Design Approach for the Plastisphere. Multi-scalar microplastic contamination necessitates design proposals in kind from body-scale decontamination to site-specific educational centers, to global infrastructure for microplastic tracking. The question is then how that architecture will respond to, and prompt change in, its networked relational ecosystems to create new spatial relationships that shape the current and future eras.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

“The world produces an estimated 10 tons of plastic a second, and between 5 million and 14 million tons sweep into oceans every year.”

Yong, Ed. A, Troubling Discovery in the Deepest Ocean Trenches. The Atlantic

1 | Philosophical & Theoretical Framework

1.1 Meso: Introduction

1.2 Micro: Objective

1.3 Macro: Theoretical Grounding 2 | Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens

2.1 Micro: Contaminant

2.2 Macro: Contaminated Planet

2.3 Meso: Contaminated Ecosystems

2.4 Microplastic Paintings 3 | Design Approach Through Theoretical Lens

3.1 Macro: Relevant Initiatives

3.2 Meso: Programmatic Precedents

3.3 Micro: Filter Feeder Precedents 4 | Speculations

4.1 Micro: the Synthorg

4.2 Meso: Mariana’s Trench Education & Engagement Center

4.3 Macro: Infrastructural Plastic Tracking 5 | Citations Appendix

A.1 Content Developed Under Prior Theoretical Frameworks

A.2 Additional Context Information

1.1 MESO: INTRODUCTION Chemicals, crude oil, microplastic, and more have contaminated1 Earth’s waters at every scale2 from the global, to the local, to the body.3 Microplastic,4 born from petroleum, synthesized by chemicals, and ubiquitous in its invasion of all habitats and life on Earth,5 is of particular concern. Even if all production halts today,6 the existing plastic will take hundreds of years to break down7 Contaminated: An environment with the presence of a pollutant (often a toxicant) in any quantity. I favor the word contamination over pollution. Designation as pollution assumes assimilative capacity of environments and evidence of demonstrable harm in line with threshold parameters. These terms allow permission to pollute and create reliance on proof of harm before action. Liboiron, Max, ‘Pollution as Colonialism’, Duke University Press, 1

May 2021.

2 “there appears to be no environment on Earth that has escaped microplastic pollution,” Kane and Clare, ‘Dispersion, Accumulation, and the Ultimate Fate of Microplastics in Deep-Marine Environments: A Review and Future Directions.’

3 By body I not only refer to human bodies, but also animal bodies. This contamination is an equalizer in that it

contaminates all lifeforms.

4 Microplastic: any plastic fragment less than 5mm in length. Primary microplastic is manufactured at the micro scale (think microbead). Secondary microplastic are fragments from larger plastic items (like microfiber threads from textile shedding). Microfibers are an interesting case because they contaminate through the wastewater system. One study showed that up to 1,900 microfibers can shed from a single item in a single wash cycle.

Kane and Clare, ‘Dispersion, Accumulation, and the Ultimate Fate of Microplastics in Deep-Marine Environments: A Review and Future Directions’ 5 Carrington, Damian, ‘Microplastic Pollution Revealed “Absolutely Everywhere” by New Research’, The Guardian, 7 March 2019, section Environment. Microplastic can be in the form of fragments or fibers, but chemical

synthesis stemming from petroleum extraction is necessary for creating any plastic item.

6 ‘An estimated 8.3 billion tons of non-biodegradable plastic has been produced over the last 65 years. . . least 5.25 trillion pieces are estimated to be in the world’s oceans,’ Kane and Clare, ‘Dispersion, Accumulation, and the Ultimate Fate of Microplastics in Deep-Marine Environments: A Review and Future Directions’ 7 “You can’t clean up plastics because they exist in geological time, and cleaning just shuffles them in space

as they endure in time. You can’t recycle them out of the way, because it means ever more will be produced, and there is no away.” Liboiron, Max, ‘Pollution as Colonialism’, Duke University Press, May 2021, 17. All the plastic already in existence is not going anywhere regardless of whether it’s recycled or thrown out, it still exists in the world and will continue to do so for hundreds of years.

6 Philosophical & Theoretical Framework

releasing toxic chemicals8 as it does.9 The pervasiveness of microplastic and its interrelated impacts highlights the vast network of Earth’s nested ecologies.10 Its contamination of human cells, mother’s milk, tap water, coral reefs, and even deep-sea trench beds11 is proof that extraction,12 synthesis,13 Many of these chemicals are endocrine disruptors. This class of chemicals are most harmful in trace quantities (defying typical thinking on thresholds for pollution) because the body recognizes them as natural hormones if received in small doses. Endocrine disruptors can increase or decrease hormone production, alter hormone production, or mimic hormones. This can cause problems with fertility, puberty, reproductive organs, nervous system functions, the thyroid, and neurodevelopment. They have also been linked to certain cancers. (USDHHS) The material timescale is geological, and the contamination timescale is multi-generational. Liboiron, Max, ‘Pollu8

tion as Colonialism’, Duke University Press, May 2021 9 “microplastics are preferential sites for the adhesion of organic pollutants, while their degradation can release toxic compounds,” Kane and Clare, ‘Dispersion, Accumulation, and the Ultimate Fate of Microplastics in Deep-Marine Environments: A Review and Future Directions.’ The chemical magnet effect of microplastic fibers

is part of why this issue is so complex. Disturbing seabeds full of these fibers would reintroduce the chemicals to the water column. If the microplastic fibers break down within an organism, those chemicals release into that organism. However, it is possible that this chemical concentration benefits certain microbes and make the microplastic a favorable host to new ecosystems [see note 16].

10 This concept builds on the work of Donna Haraway’s “naturecultures” and pulls from Meredith Miller’s Views from the Plastisphere. Miller notes there is a “tremendous gap between the simple immediacy of a single atmosphere as a concept and the intricate, layered, and multi-scaled composition of people, systems, and infrastructures involved in making that atmosphere “knowable”.” Miller, Meredith, Views from the Plastisphere, 73. My aim is to make this atmosphere “knowable” through an interdisciplinary feminist-socialist approach using drawing and visualization as my primary research methods.

11 Carrington, Damian, ‘Microplastic Particles Now Discoverable in Human Organs’, The Guardian, 17 August 2020, section Environment 12 Extraction: Used here specifically referencing petroleum. Extractive practices such as fracking and drilling

to remove crude oil from the Earth without reciprocal intent.

13 Synthesis: Here synthesis refers to petroleum transformation into a material that does not return to its original form and is no longer recognizably related to its original form.

Philosophical & Theoretical Framework 7

manufacture,14 consumption,15 use,16 and waste17 leads to complex, and often unexpected, consequences. To this end, even the microplastic itself hosts a lifesustaining ecosystem.18 Plastic is so deeply embedded in the entire networked relational ecosystems19 that the global ecosystem can now be considered the Plastisphere.20 Manufacture: The product is synthesized yet again. This time it is transformed into a product with consumptive intent. Often the consumption is intended to be short-lived to promote further consumption.

15 Consumption: The purchase of the product. The consumption stage is divorced from the extraction and synthesis stages due to the transformations however, so the consumer is not aware of the product’s presence in the larger network.

16 Use: The useful life of the product is often intentionally short. Also, due to the multiple stages of synthesis, the product often cannot be recycled or reused.

17 Waste: As you probably guessed, this is the most common end for plastic products. The designation of “waste” indicates that the entity is no longer “useful” and therefore no longer has value. Waste is the cornerstone of a Neoliberal Capitalist economy. However, it is essential to acknowledge that waste is simply a social construct based on whether that entity presents an opportunity to accumulate capital. Further, the label “waste” has no bearing on real-world impacts to system at large. In other words, out of sight, out of mind, does not mean out of body. [see note 6] The neoliberal capitalist imaginary envisions a plasticized world that simply isn’t so.

18 Novel microbial communities flourish on fragments of floating plastic in higher density and diversity than the surrounding water. In addition, plants, algae, and bacteria living on the plastics are now part of a synergistic food chain. Miller, Meredith, Views from the Plastisphere, 76 & Liboiron, Max, ‘Pollution as Colonialism’, Duke Uni14

versity Press, May 2021, 104 19 Networked Relational Ecosystems: This term captures my theoretical framing of the environment as a

palimpsest of multi-scalar, overlapping, interrelated ecosystems that are each unique, but also responsive. This framing pulls heavily from Miller, Haraway, and Liboiron’s conceptions of environment systems. The dynamism of environmental systems and their capacity to change, respond, or adapt is key. I originally employed a General Systems Theory lens (Fuller), however the conception of distinct systems with discrete leverage points did not address the capacity for one leverage point to impact another system unintentionally, the nested ecosystems within that system, or that system as a nested ecosystem itself.

20 Plastisphere: This term was originally used by scientists, and then Miller and Liboiron, to reference the microscopic ecosystem of microbial life found on microplastic [see note 16]. I am expanding use of the term to include that ecosystem as well as its entire networked relational ecosystems [see note 17] because this ecosystem exists in relation to many others and will never not exist in a relational capacity.

8 Philosophical & Theoretical Framework

Architecture designs the spatial relationship between people and the environment; therefore, we must consider contamination’s change of the environment in our designs. We need a Design Approach for the Plastisphere. Multi-scalar microplastic contamination necessitates design proposals in kind from body-scale decontamination to site-specific educational centers, to global infrastructure for microplastic tracking. The question is then how that architecture will respond to, and prompt change in, its networked relational ecosystems to create new spatial relationships that shape the current and future eras.

“Design that enables us to “see” these “other” aesthetic categories is a step toward understanding the types of cultural and epistemological work they do. As designers we do not just document existing conditions-we can pull things together in new ways, adding value through form, image, coloration, organization, and so on. However, this cannot happen from within autonomous bubbles of a “disciplinary” practice. lt involves a more inclusive attention to the naturecultures that comprise architecture’s contingencies and that condition architecture’s reception.”

“One benefit of this model is the focus on architecture’s primary domain of knowledge, which addresses the question of where form, material, and aesthetics can actually have effects in the world.”

Miller, Meredith, Views from the Plastisphere

Philosophical & Theoretical Framework 9

1.2 MICRO: OBJECTIVE My objective for this body of research is to develop a theoretical framework and design principles that consider the complex challenges of a world of invisible contaminants, decontamination, and non-pollutive existence.

I use drawing and painting as primary research methods to visualize invisible relationships. The aim is to constitute conceptual understanding, personal “knowing,” and emotional response to the contaminant and its place in the world. I then experiment with how these drawings and paintings can inform multi-scalar speculative design proposals for the future. My research on microplastic contamination led to a particular interest in the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument given its invisible nature both visually and culturally within the United States. The trench is a testing site for my design approach and is a major character in this work.

The larger goal is to promote recognition of, and response to, microplastic contamination by the design community and community at large. This research will pair with an in-depth design proposal at the conclusion of my Master of Architecture degree.

10 Philosophical & Theoretical Framework

1.3 MACRO: THEORETICAL GROUNDING Representing the Human-Plastic Spatial Relationship Extraction

Chemical Synthesis

Consumption

Use

Waste

Neoliberal Capitalist Imaginary

Extraction

Contamination

These visualizations were informed by several key theories. I describe them below in sequence: Buckminster Fuller’s General Systems Theory and closed loop systems concept, Haraway’s nested ecologies concept, Liboiron’s framing of kinship, colonial practices, and specific terminology definitions, and Bennett’s political ecology from Vibrant Matter and fractious holism concept. These various theories of interrelated systems informed my own systems theory, which must be understood in relation to past and future practices.

Contamination Chemical Synthesis

Contamination

Chemical Synthesis

De-pollution/Detoxification

Extraction Sustainable Collection/Harvest Replenishment

Waste

Consumption Degradation

Use

Closed Loop Systems Imaginary 12 Philosophical & Theoretical Framework

Networked Relational Ecosystems Imaginary

Community/Ecological Benefit

Use

Philosophical & Theoretical Framework 13

2 | CONTAMINANT ANALYSIS THROUGH THEORETICAL LENS 2.1 MICRO: CONTAMINANT What’s in My Closet?

Microplastic is defined as any plastic fragment less than 5mm in length. Primary microplastic is manufactured at the micro scale (like a microbead). Secondary microplastics are fragments from larger plastic

Plastic microfibers are a secondary microplastic since they are primarily from textile shedding. These fibers are thread made by chemically synthesizing crude oil to form polyethylene, acrylic, polyester, and nylon. Microplastic is particularly insidious in ocean items.

habitats because of the number of filter feeders. The plastic is easily embedded or ingested by the sea life.

These examples are clothing items from my closet that are made of synthetic textiles. I document the life of the item from extraction to my own consumption to highlight my role in the system as a young woman (fashion’s target market) and the role of the individual generally.

Extraction: Petroleum Chemical Synthesis: Nylon Manufactured: Unknown Consumption Point: Unknown Consumption Point 2: Rethreads Consumption Status: Used Extraction: Petroleum Chemical Synthesis: Polyester, Spandex Manufactured: Pakistan Consumption Point: Banana Republic Consumption Status: New Extraction: Coal or Petroleum Chemical Synthesis: Nylon, Elastane Manufactured: El Salvador Consumption Point: Under Armour Consumption Status: New

A microplastic thread embedded in a sea pen polyp

Extraction: Petroleum Chemical Synthesis: Polyester Manufactured: China Consumption Point: Macy’s Consumption Status: New

Extraction: Petroleum Chemical Synthesis: Acrylic Manufactured: U.S.A Consumption Point: Urban Outfitters Consumption Status: New 14 Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens

Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens 15

Chemical Synthesis The clothing on the prior page includes representative examples of the ways that plastic escapes recognition, and extractive materials like coal and petroleum can be transformed beyond visible relation to the source material. Nylon, elastane, polyester, and acrylic are found in these common pieces of clothing. Additional synthetic fabrics include Kevlar and acetate.

Melt Spinning

NYLON [POLYAMIDE] 1938 | DuPont

1mm

Gra

in o

Let’s explore the transformation from petroleum to clothing to contaminant.

Polyeurathane

Dry Spinning or Wet Spinning

ELASTANE [SPANDEX & LYCRA] 1958 | DuPont

f Sa

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Mic

1mm

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PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS

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Heat + Pressure = Polymerization & Viscosity

16 Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens

Melt Spinning

POLYESTER 1941 | DuPont

Chemical Solvent + at least 85% acrylonitrile copolymers

Wet Spinning

ACRYLIC 1950 | DuPont

ic F

iber

MICROPLASTIC FIBERS

eloc

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She

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Low

Ethylene Glycol + Terephthalic Acid = Polyethylene Terephthalate [PET]

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Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens 17

Farallon de Pajaros

2.2 MACRO: CONTAMINATED PLANET

Maug Islands Asuncion

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Top 10 synthetic textile manufacturers in the world [2020]

Lenzing Group

1868: Modern washing machine invented

China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) Toray Mitsubishi Chemicals

Teijin Limited Asahi Kasei Corp.

Toyobo Co., Ltd.

Aleutian Trench

1941: Polyester invented 1950’s: Automatic washing machines popularized

Kuril-Kamchatka Trench

~1,500 B.C.E: Guam settled by the Chamoru Japan Trench

Rota

Geological: Southern End of the IzuBonin-Mariana Arc Subduction Zone of Pacific and Mariana Plates

Guam (Guåhan)

DuPont

1959: Spandex invented

1668: Guam colonized by Spain

Reliance Industries

1898: Guam becomes U.S. jurisdiction after capture

Izu-Ogasawara Trench

Indorama Corporation

1935: First synthetic fiber invented by DuPont Chemicals (nylon)

Pagan Alamagan Guguan Sarigan Anatahan Farallon de Medinilla Saipan Tinian Aguijan

Political: Northwest Area of Micronesia Both unincorporated territories of the U.S.A.

Source: https://blog.bizvibe.com/blog/textiles-and-garments/ top-10-synthetic-fiber-manufacturers

Agrihan

Mariana Trench Guam (Guåhan) Philippine Trench

1941: Guam captured by the Japanese 1944: Guam recaptured by the U.S.

Puerto Rico Trench Middle America Trench

2009: Mariana Trench Marine National Monument 2012: James Cameron Expedition to Challenger Deep

Tonga Trench Peru-Chile Trench

Java Trench

Kermadec Trench

1982: U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea codified Exclusive Economic Zones extending 200 nautical miles from the shore of a territory designating those waters and seabed under that territory’s jurisdiction 1987: Marine Pollution Research & Control Act 2006: Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act

18 Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens

Rota Guam (Guåhan)

South Sandwich Trench

Mariana Trench

Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens 19

Top 10 synthetic textile manufacturers in the world [2020] Source: https://blog.bizvibe.com/blog/textiles-andgarments/top-10-synthetic-fiber-manufacturers

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1998)

U.S. Exclusive Economic Zones [Territorial Seas]

The Neoliberal Capitalist Imaginary is dangerous because it plays out in global legislation with sociopolitical-economic-environmental consequences. Below are selected passages summarizing the UNCLOS as it relates to microplastic contamination, resource extraction, environmental exploitation, and obligation. Emphasis placed on language tied to extractive capitalistic practices.

“The exclusive economic zone (EEZ) . . . recognizes the right of coastal States to jurisdiction over the resources . . . of ocean space. To the coastal State falls the right to exploit, develop, manage and conserve all resources - fish or oil, gas or gravel, nodules or sulphur - to be found in the waters, on the ocean floor and in the subsoil of an area extending 200 miles from its shore.”

“About 87 percent of all known and estimated hydrocarbon reserves under the sea fall under some national jurisdiction as a result. So too will almost all known and potential offshore mineral resources . . .

And whatever the value of the nodules, it is the other nonliving resources, such as hydrocarbons, that represent the presently attainable and readily exploitable wealth.”

“Also, a large percentage of world oil and gas production is offshore. Many other marine resources also fall within coastal-State control. This provides a long-needed opportunity for rational, well-managed exploitation under an assured authority.”

20 Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens

“Figures on known offshore oil reserves now range from 240 to 300 billion tons. . . Experts estimate that of the 150 countries with offshore jurisdiction, over 100, many of them developing countries, have medium to excellent prospects of finding and developing new oil and natural gas fields.”

“Among the major beneficiaries of the EEZ regime are the United States, France, Indonesia, New Zealand, Australia and the Russian Federation.”

“But with exclusive rights come responsibilities and obligations. For example, the Convention encourages optimum use of fish stocks without risking depletion through overfishing. Each coastal State is to determine the total allowable catch for each fish species within its economic zone and is also to estimate its harvest capacity . . . Coastal States are obliged to give access to others . . . Such access must be done in accordance with the conservation measures established in the laws and regulations of the coastal State. Coastal States have certain other obligations, including the adoption of measures to prevent and limit pollution and to facilitate marine scientific research in their EEZs.” Source: Overview - Convention & Related Agreements [https://www. un.org]

From this language it is clear that pollution is still permissible, and lucrative offshore drilling rites are prioritized. The imaginary is made clear when examining the fractured nature of the “territorial seas,” locations of major synthetic textile manufacturers, and the global scale of contamination. When

the imaginary is at a global scale, so are the consequences.

Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens 21

items/50 ml^-1 continental shelf median: 15 (33 max) open continental slope: 16 (33max) submarine canyon: 37 (57max) Abyssal plan: 25 (42 max) ocean trench: 42 (92 max) Seamount: 5 (8 max)

Not All Contamination is Equal Continental Shelf | Median 15 | Maximum 33

It is true that plastic microfiber was found in the sediments across every level of the ocean. However, the settlement is unequal.

Microplastic fibers were discovered in higher densities in deep sea trenches than in any other ecosystem of the ocean.

continental shelf median: 15 (33 max)

open continental slope: 16 (33max)

submarine canyon: 37 (57max)

Abyssal plane: 25 (42 max)

ocean trench: 42 (92 max)

Seamount: 5 (8 max)

items/50 ml^-1 continental shelf median: 15 (33 max) open continental slope: 16 (33max) submarine canyon: 37 (57max) Abyssal plan: 25 (42 max) ocean trench: 42 (92 max) Seamount: 5 (8 max)

Aleutian Trench items/50 ml^-1

The most remote location on Earth, an extreme environment where only a few humans have ever been, is already saturated with this contaminant.

continental shelf median: 15 (33 max) open continental slope: 16 (33max) submarine canyon: 37 (57max) Abyssal plan: 25 (42 max) ocean trench: 42 (92 max) Seamount: 5 (8 max)

Continental Slope | Median 16 | Maximum 33

Kuril-Kamchatka Trench

continental shelf median: 15 (33 max)

Japan Trench

In other words, microplastic fibers from a sweater you washed years ago could be in the seabed of Mariana’s Trench right now even though you have never been there and may not even know where that is.

open continental slope: 16 (33max)

submarine canyon: 37 (57max)

Java Trench

submarine canyon: 37 (57max)

Ocean Trench | Median 42 | Maximum 92

Izu-Ogasawara Trench Philippine Trench & Mariana Trench continental shelf median: 15 (33 max)

open continental slope: 16 (33max)

Abyssal plane: 25 (42 max)

ocean trench: 42 (92 max)

Abyssal plane: 25 (42 max)

Middle America Trench

ocean trench: 42 (92 max)

Seamount: 5 (8 max)

Puerto Rico Trench

Seamount: 5 (8 max)

Tonga Trench items/50 ml^-1 continental shelf median: 15 (33 max) open continental slope: 16 (33max) submarine canyon: 37 (57max) Abyssal plan: 25 (42 max) ocean trench: 42 (92 max) Seamount: 5 (8 max)

Peru-Chile Trench Kermadec Trench

items/50 ml^-1

Sources of data for visualization: 1. Kane, Ian A., and Michael A. Clare, ‘Dispersion, Accumulation, and the Ultimate Fate of Microplastics in Deep-Marine Environments: A Review and Future Directions’, Frontiers in Earth Science, 7 (2019) <https://doi.org/10.3389/ feart.2019.00080>

continental shelf median: 15 (33 max) open continental slope: 16 (33max) submarine canyon: 37 (57max) Abyssal plan: 25 (42 max) ocean trench: 42 (92 max) Seamount: 5 (8 max)

continental shelf median: 15 (33 max)

Abyssal Plane | Median 25 | Maximum 42 open continental slope: 16 (33max)

submarine canyon: 37 (57max)

Abyssal plane: 25 (42 max)

ocean trench: 42 (92 max)

Seamount: 5 (8 max)

2. Kane, Ian A., Michael A. Clare, Elda Miramontes, Roy Wogelius, James J. Rothwell, Pierre Garreau, and others, ‘Seafloor Microplastic Hotspots Controlled by Deep-Sea Circulation’, Science, 368.6495 (2020), 1140–45 <https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba5899>

Seamounts | Median 5 | Maximum 8 continental shelf median: 15 (33 max)

22 Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens

open continental slope: 16 (33max)

submarine canyon: 37 (57max)

Abyssal plane: 25 (42 max)

ocean trench: 42 (92 max)

South Sandwich Trench

Seamount: 5 (8 max)

Mid-Ocean Ridge Continental Shelf Abyssal Plane

3max)

Abyssal plan: 25 (42 max) ocean trench: 42 (92 max) Seamount: 5 (8 max)

Microplastic Fiber Accumulation Densities Abyssal Plane | Median 25 | Maximum 42

items/50 ml^-1 continental shelf median: 15 (33 max) open continental slope: 16 (33max) submarine canyon: 37 (57max) Abyssal plan: 25 (42 max) ocean trench: 42 (92 max) Seamount: 5 (8 max)

Seamounts | Median 5 | Maximum 8

items/50 ml^-1 continental shelf median: 15 (33 max) open continental slope: 16 (33max) submarine canyon: 37 (57max) Abyssal plan: 25 (42 max) ocean trench: 42 (92 max) Seamount: 5 (8 max)

continental shelf median: 15 (33 max)

submarine canyon: 37 (57max)

Abyssal plane: 25 (42 max)

items/50 ml^-1

ocean trench: 42 (92 max)

open continental slope: 16 (33max)

submarine canyon: 37 (57max)

Abyssal plane: 25 (42 max)

ocean trench: 42 (92 max)

Seamount: 5 (8 max)

Seamount: 5 (8 max)

Continental Shelf | Median 15 | Maximum 33

continental shelf median: 15 (33 max) open continental slope: 16 (33max) submarine canyon: 37 (57max) Abyssal plan: 25 (42 max) ocean trench: 42 (92 max) Seamount: 5 (8 max)

continental shelf median: 15 (33 max)

open continental slope: 16 (33max)

submarine canyon: 37 (57max)

Abyssal plane: 25 (42 max)

ocean trench: 42 (92 max)

Seamount: 5 (8 max)

continental shelf median: 15 (33 max)

Continental Slope | Median 16 | Maximum 33 continental shelf median: 15 (33 max)

24 Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens

open continental slope: 16 (33max)

submarine canyon: 37 (57max)

Abyssal plane: 25 (42 max)

ocean trench: 42 (92 max)

open continental slope: 16 (33max)

submarine canyon: 37 (57max)

Abyssal plane: 25 (42 max)

Ocean Trench | Median 42 | Maximum 92

ocean trench: 42 (92 max)

Seamount: 5 (8 max)

Microplastic is everywhere, which is why designers must be aware of them in the way we are aware of natural light and account for them in the way we account for seismic activity.

Seamount: 5 (8 max)

Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens 25

Journey to the Bottom of the Trench Surface Currents carry larger pieces of plastic debris and fragments to large floating plastic accumulations, like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

1mm

1mm

1mm

0.1mm

Grain of Sand

Microplastic Fragment

Microplastic Fiber

High Settling Velocity to Shear Velocity Ratio

Moderate Settling Velocity to Shear Velocity Ratio

Low Settling Velocity to Shear Velocity Ratio

Thermohaline Currents occur due to water temperature changes causing warmer water to rise and cold water to sink. These global deep sea currents circulate microplastic in the water column.

Remains suspended in the water column longest

0.1mm

Microplastic Fragment

Moderate Settling Velocity to Shear Velocity Ratio

Microplastic Fiber

Turbidity Currents are essentially underwater landslides. They deposit vast amounts of sediment, laden with microplastic, from the continental slope down into the trenches.

Low Settling Velocity to Shear Velocity Ratio

Unlike large surface plastic debris, microfiber is invisible to the naked eye. Visualizing the contaminant within its larger network is essential to understanding the scope and nature of contamination.

That sweater fiber is light and easily carried by these currents through the water column into the trench.

Remains suspended in the water column longest

1mm

1mm

Grain of Sand

Microplastic Fragment

0.1mm

Microplastic Fiber

1mm

1mm

0.1mm

Grain of Sand

Microplastic Fragment

Microplastic Fiber

High Settling Velocity to Shear Velocity Ratio

26 Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens

Moderate Settling Velocity to Shear Velocity Ratio

Low Settling Velocity to Shear Velocity Ratio

Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens 27 Remains suspended in the water column longest

High Settling Velocity to Shear Velocity Ratio

Moderate Settling Velocity to Shear Velocity Ratio

Low Settling Velocity to Shear Velocity Ratio

Remains suspended in the water column longest

2.3 MESO: CONTAMINATED ECOSYSTEMS Into the Trench. . .

Let’s continue to follow that sweater fiber into Mariana’s Trench to explore its relationship to that ecosystem, and by extension, our own.

Mariana’s Trench itself is massive, spanning over 1,500 miles long and 43 miles across.

At its deepest point, the Challenger Deep, the trench extends over 10 km. The environment in the trench is extreme. There is total darkness, massive pressure, and nutrient scarcity. Yet, this ecosystem hosts many unique lifeforms and geological features.

The following pages show a sampling of lifeforms found in the trench and views from the Mariana Islands. These images render the invisibility of the trench apparent. There is no indication of the trench or its lifeforms from the surface.

Sources: NOAA, NASA, The New York Times

28 Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens

Crinoid

Sea Pig

Ghost Fish

Stylodactylidae

Hadal Sponge

Cusk Eel

30 Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens

View of Maug Islands from the Sea (part of the Northern Mariana Islands)

Cetti Bay on the Southern Coast of Guam

Images Source: NOAA Photo Library

Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens 31

Contaminated Creatures The creatures of this nutrient scarce environment rely on marine snow for sustenance. Marine snow is the continuous shower of particles and debris from upper oceanic zones [NOAA]. However, instead of nutrients, these creatures are eating microplastic and starving to death, or the plastic embeds within them after ingestion.

Marine Snow Organic Matter

Pristine Pristine Pristine Pristine Fiber

So your sweater fiber ends up in the belly of an amphipod, now what?

Ingested Fiber Ingested Ingested

In addition to starving, they are also poisoned by the chemical concentration due to the large surface area-to-volume ratio and rough surface of the degraded microfibers. Trench seafloors are now hotbeds of chemicals due to these fibers.

Deep SeaWater Exposed Fiber Deep Sea Exposure

Amphipod

Microplastic Fiber

Ingested

Deep Deep Sea Sea Water Water Exposure Exposure

Taylor, M., Gwinnett, C., Robinson, L. et al. Plastic microfiber ingestion by deepsea organisms. Sci Rep 6, 33997 (2016).

Perhaps at this point you are not convinced that these contaminated creatures have any bearing on your life whatsoever and they are simply your sweater’s victims, which could be unfortunate but not dire. . . right?

32 Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens

Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens 33

Contaminated Creatures Pt. 2 Microplastic is in the food chain as well as tap water. That amphipod was eaten by a larger fish, which was eaten by a larger fish, etc. until it landed at the dinner table. Now that microfiber we tracked is eaten by you, and I am sure that is not the type of consumption you had in mind when picking it out.

The deep sea is not the only contaminated ecosystem. The human body, and all its networked relational ecosystems are contaminated as well. The deleterious effects of human microplastic consumption are still largely unknown. However, there is evidence of microplastic as a vehicle for endocrine disrupting chemicals and harmful microbes.

It is crucial to understand, respond to, and address microplastic contamination, prioritize detoxification, and ensure nonpollutive existence for human health. This has additional implications for design materials and methods. What would it mean for plastic production to be strictly limited to essentials? What is essential?

34 Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens

The New Cyborg The Haraway cyborg [cybernetic organism] of the 1960’s is a human with both organic and biomechatronic parts conceived of in response to scientific and technological advancements breaching the human body. In my extension of this concept, people are now both organic and chemically synthetic plastic materials, [synthetic organisms], so perhaps we are all a new cyborg of sorts. Perhaps we are all synthorgs. Further, addressing inequity of contamination in synthorgs is critical to understanding microplastic’s networked relational ecosystems.

“Late twentieth-century machines have made thoroughly ambiguous the difference between natural and artificial, mind and body, self-developing and externally designed, and many other distinctions that used to apply to organisms and machines. Our machines are disturbingly lively, and we ourselves frighteningly inert.”

Donna Haraway, The Cyborg Manifesto, 11

“. . . the certainty of what counts as nature—a source of insight and promise of innocence— is undermined, probably fatally. The transcendent authorization of interpretation is lost, and with it the ontology grounding “Western” epistemology. But the alternative is not cynicism or faithlessness, that is, some version of abstract existence, like the accounts of technological determinism destroying “man” by the “machine” or “meaningful political action” by the “text.” Who cyborgs will be is a radical question; the answers are a matter of survival.”

Donna Haraway, The Cyborg Manifesto, 12

36 Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens

This begins the following line of questioning: • How does a synthorg relate to its surroundings?

• How would the synthorg construct its identity and relate that identity to the surrounding environment and occupation of space?

• What does it mean to be “contaminated” in this context? What is the relationship to conceptions of purity?

• Are all synthorgs created equal, or are there racial and environmental justice issues as to who is more synth and who is more org?

• What are the differences between elective synthorgs who choose to take synthetics into their body (via medical device for example) versus non-elective synthorgs who have contamination forced on them?

Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens 37

2.4 MICROPLASTIC PAINTINGS This series experiments with painting as research. I use these paintings to test reinterpretation of the contaminant, the environment it contaminates, and future implications. The paintings are dryer lint and gloss gel medium on canvas. The lint is a mixture of organic and synthetic materials and the gel medium is acrylic, which is originally derived from petroleum.

Wave Cycle

This painting represents both the scale of the particle, the washing machine, and the ocean. The density of microplastic in the ocean is increasing exponentially over time.

This painting explores a potential future with waves of microplastic and the concept of convergence as the actions of the past impact the future.

38 Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens

Overlap & Absence Microplastic’s impact extends far beyond the ocean due to the overlapping nature of ecosystems. I continue the visual language of the previous painting and suggest that as one contaminated ecosystem overlaps with another, something is lost. Perhaps this loss is time or lifespan, fertility, or even a species. However, this absence also represents room for new life, new thinking, and new modes of relation.

40 Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens

Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens 41

Imbalanced Hourglass This painting explores the idea of balance and time between human practices and the Earth’s cycles. I imagine a traditional hourglass is filled with waves of microplastic fibers and thrown off balance by rounded bases. This form will come to rest on its side , representing the fact that there is no turning back time on this issue.

42 Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens

Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens 43

Suspended Particle This painting examines the convergence of wastewater, the particle, and the trench.

The suspended particle is in tension between the two equal triangles. This illustrates the tension between Earth’s cycles and the overproduction of extractive synthetic materials with microplastic at the center of each.

44 Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens

Contaminant Analysis Through Theoretical Lens 45

3 | DESIGN APPROACH THROUGH THEORETICAL LENS 3.1 MACRO: RELEVANT INITIATIVES Let’s revisit the objective: Multi-scalar microplastic contamination necessitates design proposals in kind from body-scale decontamination to sitespecific educational centers, to global infrastructure for microplastic tracking.

The question is then how that architecture will respond to, and prompt change in, its networked relational ecosystems to create new spatial relationships that shape the current and future eras.

An important step for my design approach was to study the work of others (human and non). There are many individuals, companies, universities, collectives, and governments working on this issue.

There are also many existing non-human lifeforms addressing this contaminant.

The page to the right provides a snapshot of the types of advances being made in science and policy. While it’s positive to see time and energy put toward microplastic contamination, none of these initiatives address the systemic issues at hand.

Source: Ohm, Skunk, ‘YUNA Microplastic Water Filter Buoy Win James Dyson Award In Spain’, Intelligent Living, 2019

Source: ‘NSF Grant to Fund Research into “Microcleaners” for Waterways’, Cornell Chronicle

Source: ‘Copenhagen Opts for Performance-Based Sludge Treatment Model - Kemira’

Embroidered Handkerchief by Kate Nguyen, 2021

46 Design Approach Through Theoretical Lens

Design Approach Through Theoretical Lens 47

3.2 MESO: PROGRAMMATIC PRECEDENTS Solrødgaard Water Treatment Plant Architect: Henning Larsen Location: Hillerød, Denmark Year: 2017 Function: Wastewater Treatment Public Program: Park

Sydhavns Recycling Center • Offers visibility of the journey of water from rain outside to treatment inside • Beautiful facility and park space to foster personal connection to wastewater • “Provides recreation, a connection to nature, and an everyday education in climate awareness” [henninglarsen. com]

https://www.aasarchitecture.com

https://dezeen.com

Whitney Water Purification Facility

Soil Centre

Architect: Steven Holl Architects Location: Connecticut, USA Year: 2005 Function: Wastewater Treatment Public Program: Park & Public Education

• Water purification is a metaphor for design, but does not mean clear connection to program for public • Design of surrounding greenery improves biodiversity of the area • Strategic gravity pressure to forgo high energy pumps • Rigorous sustainable design principles for low environmental impact building

https://www.stevenholl.com

CopenHill

https://archpaper.com

48 Design Approach Through Theoretical Lens

Architect: Bjarke Ingels Group Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Year: In Planning Function: Recycling Center Public Program: Running Track, Picnic Area, Snowboard Slope

• Recycling on display, increasing visibility & connection to the waste • Public educational component in the form of graphics on display • Captures the scale of the local to serve a specific community, but does not address this community specifically

Architect: Christensen & Co. Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Year: 2013 Function: Contaminated Soil Management Public Program: None

• Promotes healthy work environment with natural light and plants • Renewable resources & low-waste building • Preserves the ecology of the area to support existing species • Zero-energy building

https://dezeen.com

Architect: Bjarke Ingels Group Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Year: 2005 Function: Waste-to-Energy Plant Public Program: Ski Slope & Hiking Trails

• Popular public program for the building drawing people to the plant • No real connection between the public and the purpose of the plant or educational component to foster connection to waste • “One of the cleanest waste to energy plants in the world” [BBC.com]

These case studies all address land-based waste management within beautiful facilities to highlight its importance. All except the Soil Centre also include public programs to encourage recognition of waste management’s importance. These case studies provide a useful basis for critique and highlight a need for my thesis. All are considered groundbreaking, however none address sea-based waste or microplastics. Also, to the best of my knowledge, none address the larger systems of inequity, extraction, contamination, and environmental degradation due to overconsumption that lead to “waste.”

Design Approach Through Theoretical Lens 49

3.3 MICRO: FILTER FEEDER PRECEDENTS BIVALVES

Mussels

BALEEN WHALES

Oysters

Scallops

CRUSTACEANS

Krill

Humpback Whale

Gray Whale Baleen

Humpback Whale Baleen

Venus Flower Basket Sponge

Leuconia

Sea Pen

Sea Pen

SPONGES

Mysidacea

Porcelain Crab

Tube Sponge

CNIDARIANS

Barnacle

Barnacle Leg Moon Jellyfish

50 Design Approach Through Theoretical Lens

Design Approach Through Theoretical Lens 51

TUNICATES

ANEMONES & CORALS

Ascidian

Sea Squirt

Salp Chain

Salp

Animal precedents can provide a new way of thinking about architecture that decontaminates, or filters. These are examples of the sea’s filter feeders, which have developed over thousands of years to effectively filter tiny particles out of water.

By necessity, these animals evolved in conjunction with their networked relational ecosystems, so they may provide insight.

52 Design Approach Through Theoretical Lens

Sea Squirt

Plumose Anemone

Plumose Anemone

Soft Coral

Soft Coral Alcyonacea

Soft Coral

Animal precedents will inform my future architectural design proposals for this project and will be considered as partners in decontamination efforts.

Design Approach Through Theoretical Lens 53

4 | SPECULATIONS 4.1 MICRO: the SYNTHORG This imagining represents the scale of the body. Here a human body incorporates wearable plastic-eating bacteria colonies.

What if every time you washed your clothes, you fed your lint to your personal colonies? What would it mean to have microplastic decontamination efforts so visible and eye-catching? What if instead of wearing plastic contamination, we wore plastic decontamination?

54 Speculations

Speculations 55

4.2 MESO: MARIANA’S TRENCH EDUCATION & ENGAGEMENT CENTER Moving up in scale, this collage shows a Mariana’s Trench Marine National Monument Education & Engagement Center. The center could educate about the trench, its ecosystems, its contamination, and the larger systems responsible for the contamination. It could be self-sustaining, anchored with mussel gabion baskets as decontamination partners, include filtration based on sea life, and filter as it floats. Perhaps the center is built in a way that it dissolves over time into nutrients for the sea life and is continually rebuilt?

56 Speculations

Speculations 57

4.3 MACRO: INFRASTRUCTURAL MICROPLASTIC TRACKING The final scale of this exploration is the infrastructural. Through this research process, I realized there is no information or studies that track the microplastic from source to deposit. This research could be in progress or perhaps it is impossible. What if there was a “smart” sediment bed that could relay information about the chemical concentration of the seabed? What if that “smart sediment” communicated with self-sustaining research vessels that also fostered contaminant filtering colonies.

58 Speculations

Speculations 59

Chemicals, crude oil, microplastic, and more have contaminated Earth’s waters at every scale from the global, to the local, to the body. Microplastic, born from petroleum, synthesized by chemicals, and ubiquitous in its invasion of all habitats and life on Earth, is of particular concern. Even if all production halts today, the existing plastic will take hundreds of years to break down, releasing toxic chemicals as it does. The pervasiveness of microplastic and its interrelated impacts highlights the vast network of Earth’s nested ecologies. Its contamination of human cells, mother’s milk, tap water, coral reefs, and even deep-sea trench beds is proof that extraction, synthesis, manufacture, consumption, use, and waste leads to complex, and often unexpected, consequences. To this end, even the microplastic itself hosts a life-sustaining ecosystem. Plastic is so deeply embedded in the entire networked relational ecosystems that the global ecosystem can now be considered the Plastisphere. Architecture designs the spatial relationship between people and the environment; therefore, we must consider the contamination’s change of the environment in our designs. We need a Design Approach for the Plastisphere. Multi-scalar microplastic contamination necessitates design proposals in kind from body-scale decontamination to site-specific educational centers, to global infrastructure for microplastic tracking. The question is then how that architecture will respond to, and prompt change in, its networked relational ecosystems to create new spatial relationships that shape the current and future eras.

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Hird, ‘Waste, Landfills, and an Environmental Ethic of Vulnerability’, Ethics and the Environment, 18.1 (2013), 105 <https://doi.org/10.2979/ethicsenviro.18.1.105> ‘How Your Clothes Are Poisoning Our Oceans and Food Supply’, The Guardian, 2016 <http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/20/microfibersplastic-pollution-oceans-patagonia-synthetic-clothes-microbeads> [accessed 20 February 2021] ‘Jellyfish Mucus Filter Helps Minimise Plastic Waste in Seawater’, Springwise, 2018 <https://www.springwise.com/jellyfish-mucus-filter-helps-minimiseplastic-waste-in-seawater/> [accessed 6 March 2021]

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Mar, VerDate, “‘Marianas Trench Marine National Monument Visitor Facility Authorization 6 Act of 2011’”.’

‘Establishment of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument’,

‘Microplastics Have Invaded The Deep Ocean — And The Food Chain’, NPR.Org <https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/06/06/729419975/ microplastics-have-invaded-the-deep-ocean-and-the-food-chain> [accessed 17 April 2021]

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Fuller, Richard Buckminster, ‘Operating Manual For Spaceship Earth’ The Estate of R. Buckminster Fuller, 1969 Gang, Jeanne, ‘Deep Mapping’, Climate: Architecture and the Planetary Imaginary, The Avery Review, 2016

Gregson, Nicky, and Mike Crang, ‘Materiality and Waste: Inorganic Vitality in a Networked World’, Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 42.5 (2010), 1026–32 <https://doi.org/10.1068/a43176>

Haraway, Donna, ‘A Cyborg Manifesto: Science , Technology , And Socialist - Feminism in The Late Twentieth Century, ‘ University of Minnesota Press, 2016 Hataway, James, ‘UGA Participates in Calculation of Global Plastics Production’, UGA Today, 2017 <https://news.uga.edu/scientists-calculate-total-amount-of-

‘Microplastics Have Moved into Virtually Every Crevice on Earth’, Science, 2020 <https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/08/microplastics-invirtually-every-crevice-on-earth/> [accessed 12 February 2021] ‘Microplastics in The Deep Ocean’, DSM Observer, 2018 <https://dsmobserver.com/2018/11/microplastics-in-the-deep-ocean/> [accessed 12 February 2021]

‘Microplastics Spread throughout the Deep Sea Reveal Scale of Plastic Problem’, Environment, 2019 <https://www. nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/microplastics-spread-throughout-deep-sea-monterey-canyon> [accessed 20 February 2021] Miller, Meredith, ‘Views from the Plastisphere: A Preface to Post-Rock Architecture’ , Climate: Architecture and the Planetary Imaginary, The Avery Review, 2016 ‘More than 8.3 Billion Tons of Plastics Made: Most Has Now Been Discarded’, ScienceDaily <https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170719140939. htm> [accessed 11 April 2021]

‘Marianas Trench Marine National Monuments Brief’, NOAA, 2012 ‘NOAA Photo Library | Flickr’ <https://www.flickr.com/photos/noaaphotolib/> [accessed 16 September 2021] ‘Organisms in the Deep Ocean Are Eating Microplastics’, Florida Museum, 2019 <https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/earth-systems/blog/organisms-in-thedeep-ocean-are-eating-microplastics/> [accessed 23 March 2021] ‘Overview - Convention & Related Agreements’ <https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_historical_perspective.htm> [accessed 21 November 2021] ‘Plastic in the Deep Sea: Virtually Unaltered after a Quarter of a Century: First Long-Term Study on Plastic Degradation in a Water Depth of More than 4000 Meter’, ScienceDaily <https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200611152450.htm> [accessed 10 February 2021] ‘Seeing the Seafloor in High Definition: Modern Mapping Offers Increasing Clarity on Earth’s Vast Underwater Landscape’, EARTH Magazine, 2016 <https://www. earthmagazine.org/article/seeing-seafloor-high-definition-modern-mapping-offers-increasing-clarity-earths-vast> [accessed 20 February 2021] Taylor, M. L., C. Gwinnett, L. F. Robinson, and L. C. Woodall, ‘Plastic Microfibre Ingestion by Deep-Sea Organisms’, Scientific Reports, 6.1 (2016), 33997 <https:// doi.org/10.1038/srep33997> ‘Top 10 Synthetic Fiber Manufacturers in the World 2020 - BizVibe’, Bizvibe Blog, 2020 <https://blog.bizvibe.com/blog/textiles-and-garments/top-10synthetic-fiber-manufacturers> [accessed 17 November 2021] Van Cauwenberghe, Lisbeth, Ann Vanreusel, Jan Mees, and Colin R. Janssen, ‘Microplastic Pollution in Deep-Sea Sediments’, Environmental Pollution, 182 (2013), 495–99 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2013.08.013> ‘Where Does Our Plastic Accumulate in the Ocean and What Does That Mean for the Future?’, Our World in Data <https://ourworldindata.org/where-doesplastic-accumulate> [accessed 10 February 2021]

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APPENDIX

A.1 CONTENT DEVELOPED UNDER PRIOR THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS

Consumption by Humans Synthetic Textile Manufacturing

Petroleum Extraction / Synthetic Material Synthesis

Wastewater Treatment

Washing Machine Microfiber Shedding Wastewater Routed to the Ocean and Deep Sea

Wastewater Routed to Tap Water

Consumption by Filter Feeders

Consumption by Fish in the Human Food Chain

Consumption of Filter Feeders by Larger Fish Consumption in Tap Water

The Path of Microplastic 66 Appendix

Appendix 67

Consumption by Humans

Deep Sea Research Centers

Synthetic Textile Manufacturing

Petroleum Extraction / Synthetic Material Synthesis

Wastewater Treatment

Washing Machine Microfiber Shedding Wastewater Routed to the Ocean and Deep Sea

Wastewater Routed to Tap Water

Improve Wastewater Treatment + Broad Community Engagement

Consumption by Filter Feeders

Consumption by Fish in the Human Food Chain

Consumption of Filter Feeders by Larger Fish Consumption in Tap Water

Leverage Points 68 Appendix

Roaming Microplastic Collection Microplastic Decomposition Center + Local Community Engagement

Thoughts . . .

• A floating or seaside structure that filters microplastic from the ocean water and collects it • Social media to further understanding of microplastic and its effects

Microplastic Collector + Education Through Technology 70 Appendix

Thoughts . . .

• Swimming and play to foster attachment with the ocean, the trench, and the initiative • Material detoxification by feeding the microplastic to visible fungal beds, which break it down into non-toxic elements and provide food for the fungal colony

Decomposition Demonstration Center + Seaside Pools 72 Appendix

Appendix 73

Thoughts . . .

• Courses and research to further understand microplastic and its effects • As microplastic ceases to exist, the detoxification element would shrink, and the center could focus solely on emotional connection as a testament to the closed loop non-pollutive non-toxic philosophy.

Deep Sea Research Center 74 Appendix

Appendix 75

A.2 ADDITIONAL CONTEXT INFORMATION

Trench Unit/Refuge Islands Unit Volcanic Unit/Refuge Volcanic Unit/Non-Refuge Island

Mariana’s Trench Marine National Monument 76 Appendix

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by section 2 of the Antiquities Act do proclaim that there are hereby set apart and reserved as the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument . . . for the purpose of protecting the objects identified above, all lands and interests in lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States. . . The monument includes the waters and submerged lands of the three northernmost Mariana Islands (the “Islands Unit”) and only the submerged lands of designated volcanic sites (the “Volcanic Unit”) and the Mariana Trench (the “Trench Unit”). . . The Federal land and interests in land reserved consists of approximately 95,216 square miles of submerged lands and waters of the Mariana Archipelago, which is the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected.”

Sources: Esri, USGS, HERE, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS

1mm

1mm

0.1mm

Grain of Sand

Microplastic Fragment

Microplastic Fiber

High Settling Velocity to Shear Velocity Ratio

Moderate Settling Velocity to Shear Velocity Ratio

Low Settling Velocity to Shear Velocity Ratio

Remains suspended in the water column longest

Particle Settlement 78 Appendix

Appendix 79

Hadal Sea Cucumber

Deep Sea Squid

Sponge with Brittle Star

Platyctenid Ctenophore

Jellyfish

Deep Sea Squid

Unnamed

Squat Lobster

Cusk Eel

Diver Analyzing Hydrothermal Vent

Black Smoker

80 Appendix

Hydrothermal Vents

Images Source: NOAA Photo Library

Appendix 81