Floating Debris

Show Audio
Real (High Bandwidth)	Win (High Bandwidth)
Real (Low Bandwidth)	Win (Low Bandwidth)
Highlights:
Floating Garbage Patches win real Tracking Shoes, Toys & Severed Feet win real Lost Yachts, Corpses & Ghost Nets win real
MP3 Downloads:
Hour 1    Hour 2    Hour 3    Hour 4

Date:	04-11-09
Host:	Ian Punnett
Guests:	Curtis Ebbesmeyer, Captain Kelly Sweeney

Oceanographer and author Curtis Ebbesmeyer discussed his groundbreaking work on floating debris and ocean currents. According to Ebbesmeyer, there are eight giant "garbage patches" drifting in our oceans -- one is approximately three times the size of Texas.

These debris fields are a natural phenomenon, he explained, noting that they collect anything which floats, including trees, volcanic pumice fragments, and seeds. Harmful man-made flotsam, such as plastic resin pellets, is also accumulating in them and posing a threat to marine life, Ebbesmeyer warned. As plastic breaks down to grain-size particles, it blends in with plankton and infects the food chain, he added.

Other debris lost from cargo ships has actually helped Ebbesmeyer and an associate create a computer model of ocean currents. By tracking the drift of some 60,000 Nike shoes and 28,000 bath toys, Ebbesmeyer discovered that it took an average of three years for the junk to make a complete orbit around the ocean. This study has been instrumental in understanding the migration habits of salmon, he further noted.

Ebbesmeyer also commented on the mysterious severed human feet that have washed ashore on Canada's Pacific coast, as well as some of other odd things that beachcombers have found. In one case he has not confirmed, a person found a bottle containing the last will and testament of Singer sewing machine heiress Daisy Singer-Alexander and was awarded half of her fortune.

Pirate Attack Update

In the first half hour, Capt. Kelly Sweeney provided a brief update on the recent Somali pirate attack. He said a lifeboat containing four pirates and hostage Richard Phillips is 20 miles offshore, drifting toward the coast of Somalia. Sweeney noted that this act of piracy against an American vessel and sea captain has caused some mariners to rethink arming their crews with guns.

Related Articles

CCTV Ghost

The City Council of Liverpool has called in paranormal experts to review a ghostly image picked up by security cameras at Croxteth Hall. City bosses have suggested that the grounds may be haunted by the spirit of the 7th Earl of Sefton. Video and more info at The Courier-Mail.

Bumper Music

Bumper music from Saturday April 11, 2009

1.	Midnight Express (The Chase) Giorgio Moroder	2.	In the Mood Robert Plant	3.	Sail on, Sailor The Beach Boys
4.	Der Kommissar After the Fire	5.	Beyond the Sea Bobby Darin	6.	Blood on the Motorway DJ Shadow
7.	Come Sail Away Styx	8.	From Your Mouth God Lives Underwater	9.	Song of the Volga Boatmen Glenn Miller
10.	If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next Manic Street Preachers	11.	Home by the Sea Genesis	12.	Phenomenon LL Cool J
13.	Sailing Christopher Cross	14.	Sailing Rod Stewart	15.	Into The Mystic Van Morrison
16.	Hands of Time Groove Armada