{"id":61197,"date":"2018-03-23T05:15:08","date_gmt":"2018-03-23T05:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=61197"},"modified":"2018-03-23T05:15:08","modified_gmt":"2018-03-23T05:15:08","slug":"plastic-patch-in-pacific-ocean-growing-rapidly-study-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/plastic-patch-in-pacific-ocean-growing-rapidly-study-shows.html","title":{"rendered":"Plastic patch in Pacific Ocean growing rapidly, study shows"},"content":{"rendered":"

Plastic patch in Pacific Ocean growing rapidly, study shows<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

A collection of plastic afloat in the Pacific Ocean is growing rapidly, according to a new scientific estimate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Predictions suggest a build-up of about 80,000 tonnes of plastic in the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” between California and Hawaii.<\/span><\/p>\n

This figure is up to sixteen times higher than previously reported, say international researchers.<\/span><\/p>\n

One trawl in the centre of the patch had the highest concentration of plastic ever recorded.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Plastic concentration is increasing – I think the situation is getting worse,” said Laurent Lebreton of The Ocean Cleanup Foundation in Delft, Netherlands, which led the study.<\/span><\/p>\n

“This really highlights the urgency to take action in stopping the in-flow of plastic into the ocean and also taking measures to clean up the existing mess.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Waste accumulates in five ocean areas, the largest being the patch located between Hawaii and California.<\/span><\/p>\n

Plastic particles found in bottled water<\/span><\/p>\n

‘Shame and anger’ at plastic pollution<\/span><\/p>\n

Earth is becoming ‘Planet Plastic’<\/span><\/p>\n

The researchers used boats and planes to map this area of the North Pacific, where rotating currents and winds cause marine debris, including plastic, seaweed and plankton, to converge.<\/span><\/p>\n

The three-year mapping effort showed that plastic pollution is “increasing exponentially and at a faster rate than in the surrounding water”, said the international team.<\/span><\/p>\n

Microplastics accounted for 8% of the total mass of plastic afloat within an area of 1.6 million square km.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of the estimated 1.8 trillions bits of plastic, some were larger than microplastics, including fishing nets, toys, and even a toilet seat.<\/span><\/p>\n

Erik van Sebille of Utrecht University in the Netherlands, who is not connected with the study, said the amount of plastic discovered was “staggering”.<\/span><\/p>\n

“While their estimates come with large uncertainty ranges, they do report a staggering amount of plastic,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

“And they also discovered that the Garbage Patch is moving around much more than anyone expected.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The use of aerial surveys as well as boats could partly explain why the new estimates are higher than in the past.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the differences could also be down to increasing levels of plastic pollution in the time since the previous studies were carried out.<\/span><\/p>\n

Plastic washed out to sea following the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami could account for as much as 20% of plastic accumulating in recent years, the research, published in Scientific Reports, suggests.<\/span><\/p>\n

What the study found<\/span><\/p>\n

Plastics made up 99.9% of all debris in this part of the ocean<\/span><\/p>\n

At least 46% of plastic consisted of fishing nets, and over three quarters of the plastic was debris larger than 5cm, including hard plastics, plastic sheets and film<\/span>
\nAlthough most large items had broken down into fragments, the researchers were able to identify a small number of objects, including containers, bottles, lids, packaging straps, ropes, and fishing nets<\/span><\/p>\n

Fifty items in the sample had a readable production date: one from 1977, seven from the 1980s, 17 from the 1990s, 24 from the 2000s and one from 2010<\/span><\/p>\n

Only certain types of debris that were thick enough to float stayed and accumulated in this zone, such as the common plastics polyethylene and polypropylene, which are used in packaging.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source: Scientific Reports<\/span><\/p>\n

Every year, millions of tonnes of plastic enter the ocean. Some drifts into large systems of circulating ocean currents, known as gyres. Once trapped in a gyre, the plastic will break down into microplastics, which may be ingested by sea life.<\/span><\/p>\n

The message of the study is clear, said Laurent Lebreton.<\/span><\/p>\n

“It goes back to how we use plastic,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We’re not going to get away from plastic – in my opinion it’s very useful, in medicine, transportation and construction, but I think we must divert the way we use plastic, particularly in terms of single-use plastic and those objects that have a very short service lifespan.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/science-environment-434902<\/span>35<\/span><\/p>\n

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