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A studying KSIROThe Australian National Science Agency and the University of Toronto have calculated that There are already up to 11 million tons of plastic pollution on the
A studying KSIROThe Australian National Science Agency and the University of Toronto have calculated that There are already up to 11 million tons of plastic pollution on the ocean floor.
Every minute a garbage truck hits the ocean. With plastic use expected to double by 2040, understanding how and where it moves is critical to protecting marine ecosystems and wildlife.
Dr Denise Hardesty, senior scientist at CSIRO, said this is the first estimate of how much plastic waste ends up on the ocean floor, where it accumulates before breaking down into smaller pieces and mixing with ocean sediments.
“We know this Millions of tons of plastic waste enter our oceans every year.but what we didn’t know was how much of that pollution ended up on the bottom of our oceans,” Hardesty said in a statement.
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We found that the ocean floor has become the resting place or repository for much of the plastic pollution, with an estimated 3 to 11 million tons of plastic sinking to the ocean floor.
“Although there have been previous estimates of the amount of microplastics on the seafloor, this “Research is looking at larger objects, from nets and cups to plastic bags and everything in between.”
Alice Zhu, a doctoral student at the University of Toronto who led the study, said the assessment Plastic pollution on the ocean floor may be 100 times greater than the amount of plastic floating on the surface of the ocean..
“The ocean surface is a temporary resting place for plastic, so the hope is that if we can stop plastic from entering our oceans, the amount will be reduced. However, “Our research shows that plastic will continue to remain in the deep ocean, which becomes a permanent site or sink for marine plastic pollution.”– Zhu said.
The scientific data was used to create two predictive models to estimate the amount and distribution of plastic on the ocean floor: one based on data from remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and the other from bottom trawls.
Using ROV data, it is estimated that There is between 3 and 11 million tons of plastic pollution on the ocean floor. The ROV results also show that plastic mass is accumulating around continents, with about half (46 percent) of the predicted plastic mass on the world’s ocean floors being found at depths greater than 200 meters. Ocean depths from 200 to 11,000 m contain the remainder of the predicted plastic mass (54 percent).
Although inland and coastal seas cover much less surface area than the oceans (11% versus 56% of the Earth’s total area), these areas are predicted to contain as much plastic mass as the rest of the ocean floor.
“These results help fill a long-standing gap in knowledge about the behavior of plastics in the marine environment,” Zhu said.
Finally, Zhu stated.
Understanding the driving forces behind the transport and accumulation of plastic in the deep ocean will help reduce sources and drive environmental restoration efforts, thereby reducing the risks that plastic pollution can pose to marine life.
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Source: Aristegui Noticias
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