Atlantic garbage patch a swirl of mystery
Read Time:1 Minute, 10 Second
Though you may be more familiar with its more famous cousin, the Texas-size Great Pacific Garbage Patch, there does indeed exist a mass of tiny plastic pieces in the Atlantic. But the North Atlantic Gyre is turning out to be the more mysterious of the two: A two-decades-long study released Thursday has revealed that the total amount of plastic in the patch seems to have leveled off. We’re producing more plastic than ever, and our garbage-tossing habits haven’t changed, so how is this possible?
One theory, say scientists, is that the pieces are getting smaller and smaller thanks to the ocean’s movement and UV rays, and they’re simply missing the tiny bits when sampling the plastic. There’s also the possibility that some pieces become coated with algae or other sea life, and become heavy enough to sink. The news isn’t really reason to celebrate, notes Discover: The patch is huge. “When you expect to see zero plastic hundreds of miles from shore, it’s shocking,” says the study’s lead author.
Source Newser
Related articles:
- ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ Has Twin in Atlantic (towleroad.com)
- Scientists map North Atlantic garbage patch (telegraph.co.uk)
- A portrait of the bizarre future of marine life [Life Finds A Way] (io9.com)
- Now Atlantic is found to have huge ‘garbage patch’ (independent.co.uk)
- Plastic patch in Atlantic Ocean probed (blogs.nature.com)
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0
We have got seals and turtles etc getting washed up on the shore dead due to getting wrapped up in plastic bags.
Hello humanity. Well done.
Fuckin’ A. Let’s kill a seal with a plastic bag.
WE ARE SUCH UTTER UTTER SHITHEADS.
Sea creatures with teeth are probably breaking the plastic down into small, bite size pieces, then it gets swallowed up. I have read reports of fish and seabirds being carved open and plastic being found inside.
I suspect that algae and other organism are attaching and sinking the plastic bits as the become smaller and smaller. Then they sink or go sub-surface.
Plastic is not like that evaporating disappearing BP oil. Too bad.
P.S.
Soon to have an update on the “Tracking the Pacific Plastic Flotilla” project.