TREASURE COAST ── The community is invited to participate in the 16th Lagoon Drift Card Study.
This citizen science study examines the motion of marine debris in and around the Indian River Lagoon and Lake Worth Lagoon regions.
On Nov. 10 the public is asked to locate 4-by-6-inch, eco-friendly drift cards that will be deployed into the water at 14 different sites across Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Brevard and Palm Beach counties.
If a drift card is found, it is crucial to report the specific location, date, and time found, and a photo of both sides of the card, then email it to lagoondrift@angari.org.
Please keep the drift card and do not throw it back into the water.
On the Treasure Coast, 240 plywood and yellow-colored drift cards will be deployed at various times.
In Palm Beach County, 320 bright orange drift cards will be deployed.
During prior experiments, drift cards traveled 276 miles north and have been reported north of Jacksonville, and 40 miles south as far as the Hillsboro Inlet.
This will be the 8th experiment in the Indian River Lagoon and the16th experiment in the Lake Worth Lagoon.
The citizen science program brings experts closer to identifying debris hot spots, empowering the community to target cleanup efforts where they can make the greatest impact.
The ANGARI Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing marine and environmental science research and education, and other partners, organize the deployments and studies.
The drift card study is an extension of a study from Consortium for Advanced Research on Transport of Hydrocarbon in the Environment at the University of Miami.
For more information on the upcoming Lagoon Drift Card Study, visit angari.org/lagoondrift or follow the Angari Foundation on Facebook.