---
title: "Citizen science"
chunk: 12/19
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_science"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:48:48.750305+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

Citizen science includes projects that help monitor plastics and their associated pollution. These include The Ocean Cleanup, #OneLess, The Big Microplastic Survey, EXXpedition and Alliance to End Plastic Waste. Ellipsis seeks to map the distribution of litter using aerial data mapping by unmanned aerial vehicles and machine learning software. A Zooniverse project called The Plastic Tide (now finished) helped train an algorithm used by Ellipsis.
Examples of relevant articles (by date):

Citizen Science Promotes Environmental Engagement: (quote) "Citizen science projects are rapidly gaining popularity among the public, in which volunteers help gather data on species that can be used by scientists in research. And it's not just adults who are involved in these projects – even kids have collected high-quality data in the US."
Tackling Microplastics on Our Own: (quote) "Plastics, ranging from the circles of soda can rings to microbeads the size of pinheads, are starting to replace images of sewage for a leading cause of pollution – especially in the ocean". Further, "With recent backing from the Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Act, citizen science is increasingly embraced as a tool by US Federal agencies."
Citizen Scientists Are Tracking Plastic Pollution Worldwide: (quote) "Scientists who are monitoring the spread of tiny pieces of plastic throughout the environment are getting help from a small army of citizen volunteers – and they're finding bits of polymer in some of the most remote parts of North America."
Artificial intelligence and citizen scientists: Powering the clean-up of Asia Pacific's beaches:(quote) "The main objective is to support citizen scientists cleaning up New Zealand beaches and get a better understanding of why litter is turning up, so preventive and proactive action can be taken."
Citizen science could help address Canada's plastic pollution problem: (quote) "But citizen engagement and participation in science goes beyond beach cleanups, and can be used as a tool to bridge gaps between communities and scientists. These partnerships between scientists and citizen scientists have produced real world data that have influenced policy changes."
Examples of relevant scientific studies or books include (by date):

Distribution and abundance of small plastic debris on beaches in the SE Pacific (Chile): a study supported by a citizen science project: (quote) "The citizen science project 'National Sampling of Small Plastic Debris' was supported by schoolchildren from all over Chile who documented the distribution and abundance of small plastic debris on Chilean beaches. Thirty-nine schools and nearly 1,000 students from continental Chile and Easter Island participated in the activity."
Incorporating citizen science to study plastics in the environment: (quote) "Taking advantage of public interest in the impact of plastic on the marine environment, successful Citizen Science (CS) programs incorporate members of the public to provide repeated sampling for time series as well as synoptic collections over wide geographic regions."
Marine anthropogenic litter on British beaches: A 10-year nationwide assessment using citizen science data: (quote) "Citizen science projects, whereby members of the public gather information, offer a low-cost method of collecting large volumes of data with considerable temporal and spatial coverage. Furthermore, such projects raise awareness of environmental issues and can lead to positive changes in behaviours and attitudes."
Determining Global Distribution of Microplastics by Combining Citizen Science and In-Depth Case Studies: (quote) "Our first project involves the general public through citizen science. Participants collect sand samples from beaches using a basic protocol, and we subsequently extract and quantify microplastics in a central laboratory using the standard operating procedure."
Risk Perception of Plastic Pollution: Importance of Stakeholder Involvement and Citizen Science: (quote) "The chapter finally discusses how risk perception can be improved by greater stakeholder involvement and utilization of citizen science and thereby improve the foundation for timely and efficient societal measures."
Assessing the citizen science approach as tool to increase awareness on the marine litter problem: (quote) "This paper provides a quantitative assessment of students' attitude and behaviors towards marine litter before and after their participation to SEACleaner, an educational and citizen science project devoted to monitor macro- and micro-litter in an Area belonging to Pelagos Sanctuary."
Spatial trends and drivers of marine debris accumulation on shorelines in South Eleuthera, The Bahamas using citizen science: (quote) "This study measured spatial distribution of marine debris stranded on beaches in South Eleuthera, The Bahamas. Citizen science, fetch modeling, relative exposure index and predictive mapping were used to determine marine debris source and abundance."
Making citizen science count: Best practices and challenges of citizen science projects on plastics in aquatic environments: (quote) "Citizen science is a cost-effective way to gather data over a large geographical range while simultaneously raising public awareness on the problem".
White and wonderful? Microplastics prevail in snow from the Alps to the Arctic: (quote) "In March 2018, five samples were taken at different locations on Svalbard (Fig. 1A and Table 1) by citizen scientists embarking on a land expedition by ski-doo (Aemalire project). The citizens were instructed on contamination prevention and equipped with protocol forms, prerinsed 2-liter stainless steel containers (Ecotanca), a porcelain mug, a steel spoon, and a soup ladle for sampling."

=== Citizen sensing ===
Citizen sensing can be a form of citizen science: (quote) "The work of citizen sensing, as a form of citizen science, then further transforms Stengers's notion of the work of science by moving the experimental facts and collectives where scientific work is undertaken out of the laboratory of experts and into the world of citizens." Similar sensing activities include Crowdsensing and participatory monitoring. While the idea of using mobile technology to aid this sensing is not new, creating devices and systems that can be used to aid regulation has not been straightforward. Some examples of projects that include citizen sensing are: