All the plastics abandoned on the planet would serve to create a new continent. But for now, he has already created a few giant islands across the seas around the world. This is not a metaphor. These are large piles of plastic trash that get stuck in sea eddies. created by currents. Seven of these different-sized islands have already been identified.
The waste that makes them up consists of everything from soft drink bottles to microplastics and creates a litter soup in the sea that isn’t always confined to the surface, as it’s suspected that there may be a large fish underneath it already on the seafloor. amount of waste.
One of the main ecological problems of these plastic islands is, They fuse with the microorganisms necessary for life in the oceans and the plankton, which is the origin of the food chain.. Fish feed on these plastic particles and they end up in our kitchen. Larger debris is also ingested by many other marine animals.
So what are Earth’s 7 plastic super islands and where are they located?
1. The plastic island of the Sargasso Sea
This is the most recently discovered in the last ten years. It was found in this sea in the North Atlantic by a Greenpeace expedition to discover other large deposits of waste in the Atlantic. All sorts of easily recognizable waste can be found: shampoo bottles, fishing gear, hard containers, bags and others. According to a study by the Ocean Cleanup organization, in 2018 its size was known to be much larger than expected and could be three times that of France.
2. Arctic plastic island
It was discovered in 2013 in the Barents Sea near the Arctic Circle. This smallest plastic island It’s one of seven pieces ever found, but still contains 300,000 million floating pieces of plastic. According to a study in Science Advances, the toxic ‘island’ contains 3% of all plastic litter on Earth. The remnants come from Europe and the east coast of North America and are drifting along ocean currents as far north as Norway.
3. Plastic island in the Indian Ocean
Its existence was officially confirmed in 2010, although its existence has been assumed since 1988. This island has a variable extension as it combines areas with less waste density with other more compact areas. In any case, this island has an average waste density of 10,000 per square kilometer. It can exceed 3,000 kilometers in diameter.
4. South Atlantic Plastic Island
laid on more than one million square kilometers and moves along the South Atlantic current between South America and South Africa. There is not much information about it and it does not usually cross trade routes. It is estimated that it may contain 860 tons of material.
5. North Atlantic Plastic Island
Discovered in 1972, it is estimated to have an area of about 4 million square kilometers. However, the plastic island in the North Atlantic is famous for its features. high waste density: up to 200,000 per square kilometer. It is driven by the North Atlantic Current and is hundreds of kilometers long.
6. South Pacific Plastic Island
It is found off the coasts of Chile and Peru, and eight times larger than Italy. It has an area of approximately 2.6 million square kilometers and contains mainly microparticles of plastic materials that have been eroded by time and atmospheric agents.
7. The Great Pacific Plastic Island
It is located between the California and Hawaiian archipelagos. It moves by following the ocean current of the North Pacific subtropical eddy. Have more than 60 years old and plastic island world’s largest. Its size is huge, but still not fully defined: It is estimated that it may cover anywhere between 700,000 square kilometers and 10 million square kilometers. Therefore, in the best case, it will occupy almost the same area as the Iberian Peninsula. or, at worst, the United States. Its actual surface depends on the density criterion of the residues used.
The maximum concentration reaches million waste per square kilometer, total garbage ranging from 3 to 100 million tons. According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the Pacific waste island is growing so fast (it feeds on one tonne of waste a day), so will soon be visible even from space. The existing seabed beneath this plastic island may also be covered with underwater debris. Recent research has found that about 70% of marine debris sinks to the bottom of the ocean, so only a small fraction can float.
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Environment department contact address:crisclimatica@prensaiberica.es
Source: Informacion
Anika Rood is an author at “Social Bites”. She is an automobile enthusiast who writes about the latest developments and news in the automobile industry. With a deep understanding of the latest technologies and a passion for writing, Anika provides insightful and engaging articles that keep her readers informed and up-to-date on the latest happenings in the world of automobiles.