Our ocean needs your help! Marine debris threatens the health of marine animals and harms the environment. Marine debris, or trash in our oceans, includes cans, bottles, plastics, old fishing nets and more. Can you help determine where trash ends up in our ocean? If you can find out where the trash is, it can help to focus cleanup efforts!
The NOAA game Ocean Odyssey uses real data to guess where trash in the ocean finally ends up. In the game, you can choose from 15 locations around the world to begin your own Ocean Odyssey adventure! In the game, you’ll see garbage patches, large collections of trash created by some ocean currents. Investigate these garbage patches and learn why they exist. Learn how the ocean transports marine debris and ways that we can help keep our oceans clean.
How to Play
Have you ever wondered where trash ends up when it enters the ocean? Does it float in the ocean forever? Does it travel across the world? Find out with Ocean Odyssey.
Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate the map, then click on a location where you want the trash to start.
Use the game’s mini map to locate where you are.
Click where you want the trash to start. Choose from 15 different locations around the world. From here, the trash will begin its journey.
Click on a pin to choose where you think the trash will end up. Choose from four locations.
How does trash move in the ocean? Does it swim?
Plastic items and other forms of trash can’t swim, but our ocean can transport marine debris. Surface currents carry floating items like plastic bottles for long distances.
Credit: NOAA Marine Debris Program
What are surface currents?
Earth's wind patterns, differences in water density, and tides cause ocean surface currents. Surface currents transport nutrients and heat, influencing our local and global climate. Marine animals, such as the humpback whale, follow surface currents during their migration.
A map of the ocean’s surface currents, created using real drifter data. Credit: Rick Lumpkin (NOAA/AOML)
Measuring surface currents
NOAA scientific instruments called drifters track the location and speed of surface currents. Think of NOAA drifters as buoys that collect valuable data about the ocean surface. Over 1,000 drifters are out in the ocean right now!
Drifters measure sea surface temperature, sea level pressure and more. Drifter data improves weather forecasts, hurricane forecast models and satellite measurements. Scientists also use drifter data to predict where floating pollution can end up. NOAA’s Global Drifter Program oversees a global network of drifters.
Illustration of a drifter and its parts. Credit: NOAA
Fun Fact:
NOAA drifter data can be used to confirm sea surface temperature calculations from the GOES-R series weather satellites. Together, drifters and GOES-R series weather satellites keep an eye on our weather.
Related Resources for Educators
NOAA Marine Debris Program
NOAA Trash Talk Videos
NOAA Adopt a Drifter Program
NOAA Drifters FAQ
NOAA Global Drifter Program
Study predicting where marine debris goes
Credits
Stephen Lewis, game designer and developer
Dwight Doyle, music composer
Alexander Novati, logo designer and graphics support
NOAA’s Global Drifter Program, drifter data
NOAA’s Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing Program, internship funding
Special Thanks to:
Kyle Mansfield, web and game developer, mentor
Alexander Novati, graphic designer
Jessica Stoller-Conrad, web producer
Sam Ouertani, internship mentor
Shaun Dolk, internship mentor
Game Asset Credits
NOAA high resolution map, data.noaa.gov
Map of surface currents, Rick Lumpkin
Animated blue waves, Sea PNGs by Vecteezy
Fishing Net Icon, Fishing Net Icon Vectors by Vecteezy
Mini Map, simplemaps.com