Dave Lawrence is shown aboard the SSV Corwith Cramer during the Plastics at SEA: North Atlantic Expedition.

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Dave Lawrence could be called a man on a mission. On June 9, he joined the Sea Education Association-led expedition “to look at and try to determine the effects of plastic on ocean life.”

Next Wednesday, the Mechanicsville resident will return to Bermuda, where the journey began.

Lawrence talked about the project a day before he took on the responsibilities of science writer and editor for the expedition. He has been filing daily reports and photos at http://www.plastics.sea.edu.

For 25 years, the Sea Education Association has been studying plastic in the oceans. Lawrence said the Atlantic and Pacific oceans each have “a big garbage patch.” SEA’s work in the Atlantic includes trying to determine the size of the patch.

“They know how far the extent of the plastic patch is north to south,” he said, “but they don’t know east to west.” With this trip, he said he expected to “head east and keep going until we run out of plastic.”

The expedition also will try “to determine if microscopic plankton and stuff use the plastic for nutrients. We would expect some of the organisms to use at least a bigger piece of plastic to attach to (like barnacles),” Lawrence said.

“Obviously, we will try and document any harmful effects,” he added. “There’s really a lot that we don’t know about how the plastics affect marine life. What we do know, most of us don’t like.”

A goal of the expedition, he said, is to “make people aware of the effects on the oceans. I’ve taught oceanography before and too many people don’t realize [the effects].”

Two years ago, he attended an International Coral Reef Symposium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., where he learned “at least 30 percent or more are in danger. It’s a big global issue. Some of the most important ecosystems are in the ocean, and we can’t live without healthy ocean ecosystems.”

Lawrence described SEA as “basically a marine education outfit. All the cruises have some kind of mission. This is a first for me.”

He expected to travel about 1,000 miles east of Bermuda on the North Atlantic Expedition 2010. “I’m excited, but I’m also happy,” he said of being part of the crew.

In addition to his journalism responsibilities, Lawrence is “functioning as a member of the crew,” with duties on the SSV Corwith Cramer.

As he prepared for the experience, he said he was well aware that “you’re in a situation where, if you screw up, you can get somebody hurt. I don’t take those responsibilities lightly.”

“It’s going to be a lot of work,” he said. “A lot of people I’ve talked to say it’s an adjustment.”

The schedule has the crew working two hours and being off two hours.

While Lawrence writes about the expedition, a videographer has been providing audio packages. Their work is sent to SEA’s office in Woodshole, Mass., for posting to the website.

There also is a Twitter feed at SEA_Cramer.

A Louisiana native, Lawrence’s educational background includes science and journalism. In 1979, when he started working on a biology degree, he also started his first stint as a copy boy.

According to the mission statement on its website, the Sea Education Association “is an educational institution dedicated to exploration, understanding and stewardship of the oceans, and to the study of humanity’s relationship with the oceans. SEA offers students an interdisciplinary curriculum, on shore and at sea aboard tall ships, that provides challenging voyages of scientific discovery, academic rigor, and personal growth.”