We have known for some time now that there is a lot of plastic floating around in the ocean. . However, no research has ever been done on how many larger objects pollute the ocean floor. That is now changing: in a large-scale study, scientists have come up with an initial estimate. Scientist Denise Hardesty worked on the study. She explains: “We know that millions of tons of plastic waste end up in the oceans every year. What we didn’t know before was how much of this ultimately ended up on the sea floor. During this study, we discovered that the sea floor has turned into a reservoir for the vast majority of pollution. For example, we estimate that there are currently between 3 and 11 million tons of plastic hidden in the depths of the ocean.” The study is the first part of a larger research project that aims to better map ocean pollution. The study has been published in the journal.
Prediction models
For the research, the scientists built two prediction models. The first prediction model is based on data from remotely operated vehicles (ROV) , such as underwater drones that have spotted plastic during a survey. The second prediction phone number library model is based on data that focuses on plastic from trawls. Ultimately, the first prediction model based on ROVs proved to be particularly interesting: it showed that approximately 46% of all plastic in the ocean is located at a depth of less than 200 meters. The reverse is also true: 54% of all plastic in the ocean is located at a depth of more than 200 meters. This zone extends to the bottom of the ocean. Finally, the scientists also made one last shocking discovery: according to the prediction models, it is likely that inland seas and seas near coasts together will contain approximately as much plastic as all other (parts of the) oceans put together.
Knowledge gap
The results of the study are significant because they attempt to shed light on the pollution of the seabed itself for the first ស្វែងយល់ពីរបៀបគណនា ROI នៃយុទ្ធសាស្រ្តទីផ្សាររបស់អ្នក។ time. Fellow scientist and team member Xia Zhu also worked on the study. She says: “Our results help to fill a knowledge gap regarding the behavior of plastic in the ar numbers sea. It is very important to understand how plastic is transported and built up in the deep ocean. The surface of the ocean is really a temporary storage area for plastic. Our research shows that plastic will eventually sink to the bottom, where it will continue to float around.”
