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Tuesday, August 25th, 2020

Atlantic Ocean Holds 10x More Plastic Pollution Than Previously Believed, New Study Finds

Author:     Olivia Rosane
Source:     EcoWatch
Publication Date:     Aug. 20, 2020 12:25PM EST
 Link: Atlantic Ocean Holds 10x More Plastic Pollution Than Previously Believed, New Study Finds
Stephan:   As is usually the case with any form of pollution the initial reports always underestimate when they first report the problem. Here is the latest on the pollution of the oceans by plastic. The situation is 10 times worse than anyone previously thought. And yet petroleum plastic is still legal. How is that possible? Greed and profit, of course.
Fishermen prepare to fish, amidst floating garbage off the shore of Manila Bay during World Oceans Day in Paranaque, Metro Manila June 8, 2013. The U.N. officially designated June 8th each year as World Oceans Day, in December 2008. Credit: Reuters/Erik De Castro

There is at least 10 times more plastic polluting the Atlantic Ocean than previously believed, a new study has found.

The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) study, the first to measure the “invisible” microplastics beneath the surface of the entire Atlantic Ocean, found that there were between 12-21 million tonnes (approximately 13-23 million U.S. tons) of them floating in the top 200 meters (approximately 656 feet) under the waves.

However, the study only measured the three most common types of microplastic in the upper levels of the ocean, The Guardian pointed out. The researchers estimate that the Atlantic’s total plastic load is closer to 200 million tonnes (approximately 220.4 million U.S. tons). That is much higher than the previous estimate of 17 million to 47 million […]

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