Marine Debris: Anything human-made and solid that is lost or littered in the marine or Great Lakes environment. (You can learn more about the official legislative definition, types of marine debris, and more on the Discover Marine Debris page of our website.)

Monitoring: Repeated measurements or observations of a phenomenon over time. (You can learn more about specific marine debris monitoring on the Monitoring page of our website.)

Shoreline: An area where a body of water (including a river, lake, or the ocean) meets the land. 

Survey: An examination of specific characteristics of an area. A surveyor is a scientist who conducts a survey. 

Transect: A narrow section of an area used as a representative sample for observation or measurement. 

Protocol: A specific set of procedures and instructions completed to answer research questions.