Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion

Gr 4–9—"There is a lot more trash out there than I expected." This was the observation of a marine pollution researcher after his first flights over the Eastern Garbage Patch, an area of the Pacific Ocean where currents converge to create a floating landfill the size of Alaska. The vivid images, clear descriptions, videos, and animated diagrams in the iBook edition of will no doubt bring readers to the same realization. The title, one in the "Scientists in the Field" series (HMH, 2007) follows the efforts of Curt Ebbesmeyer and other scientists whose work studying ocean currents included tracking the routes of "roughly 80,000 sneakers" and 28,800 plastic tub toys adrift in the Pacific Ocean after two (separate) cargo spills, and referred to as "the largest and (cheapest) ocean drift experiment ever undertaken."The ebook has been enhanced with age-appropriate video content—one or two short multimedia components per chapter, including a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) animation of ocean currents that is both soothing and dizzying at the same time. The news is not all bad, though—readers also learn about scientists and conservationists who use techniques as basic as beachcombing and as advanced as satellite tracking to identify and clean up our oceans.Tracking Trash inspires further research and individual commitment to the environment, and with links to relevant websites and ongoing projects accessible from the tablet, the creators of the app have made it easy for students pursue their interests. Bonus: unlike the print version, the ebook edition isn't made out of a tree and won't end up in a landfill.—Paula Wiley, Pink Me