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Each bit of plastic takes a unique journey once it reaches the ocean. We’re trying to spot the patterns.
A biologist examines microplastics found in sea species at the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research in Greece, Nov. 26, 2019.
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As more and more plastic trash permeates the oceans, fragments are making their way into fish and shellfish – and potentially into humans.
Plastic waste is the most visible component of ocean pollution.
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Polluted oceans don’t just harm wildlife, they are a source of ill health for humans too.
Scientists have found widespread evidence of microplastics in the Arctic Ocean. This could further stress the fragile Arctic ecosystem and the food it provides to people living there.
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Microplastic pollution is a global issue, but where do they come from and how are they transported across the ocean? A new study finds polyester microfibres are common throughout the Arctic Ocean.
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Shaking polypropylene bottles and washing them with very hot water can release millions of tiny plastic particles. Here are four ways to reduce exposure.
Plastic pollution remains a topmost environmental concern
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Microplastics could pose a threat to the sustenance of aquatic biodiversity when ingested by animals.
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This is up to 35 times more than the estimated weight of plastic pollution on the ocean’s surface.
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As face marks and coverings become compulsory worldwide, littering and their potential impact on the environment increases.
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Too many small yachts and speedboats are simply being abandoned to shed toxins and microplastics into the sea.
Gammarus duebeni, the shrimp-like animal that can break down microplastic.
Alicia Mateos Cárdenas
The discovery that such a common animal can rapidly produce vast numbers of nanoplastics is particularly worrying.
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Plastic flows to the world’s waterbodies could double over the next two decades.
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New research reveals how roads channel microplastics from car tires and brake pads to remote ocean habitats.
King George Island, Antarctica.
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Our research on a remote Antarctic island found microplastics in the intestines of tiny animals.
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We must stop using biosolids for farmlands immediately, especially when alternative ways to recycle wastewater sludge already exist.
A litter trap in Cook’s River.
James HItchcock
To inner west Sydneysiders, the Cooks River is known to be particularly polluted. But after a storm, microplastic particles increased more than 40 fold.
A rockfish hides in a red tree coral in the deep sea.
Geofflos
Here’s how microplastics from your clothes end up in the deep sea.
A mylar balloon at Presqu'ile Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada.
Lara O'Brien
Releasing balloons at weddings and other celebrations is festive, until they break into pieces and become plastic pollution. A citizen science project is spotlighting the problem.
The submersible will allow scientists to film the seabed and take samples.
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Unless we know what is in the ocean, we can’t protect the biggest part of the planet.
Riverine plastic pollution is new science but necessary to stop overflowing waste coming to oceans.
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The study also finds the weight of plastic waste from all rivers in Jakarta totals 2.1 million kilograms equivalent to 1,000 Tesla Model S cars.
Large plastics break up into tiny particles called microplastics that can persist in the environment for hundreds of years.
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Many studies find microplastics have important negative effects on animals, but others don’t.