Antarctic waters have been polluted by plastic particles and countries should take corresponding measures
Xinhua News Agency, Tokyo, Sept. 28 (Reporter Hua Yi), a new Japanese survey found that the Antarctic sea has been polluted by plastic particles, and the pollution level in some areas is comparable to that in the North Pacific region, which reflects the seriousness of global Marine plastic pollution.
Plastic waste accounts for about 70% of Marine drifting waste, plastic waste gradually fragmented in the wind and sun, and plastic waste less than 5 mm in diameter is called microplastics. Plastic microparticles are easy to absorb harmful substances and are easy to be ingested by Marine organisms, thereby endangering the entire Marine ecosystem.
Previous studies have been conducted in the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic, and coastal and marginal seas around the world; Researchers from Kyushu University and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology in Japan have conducted the first survey of microplastic pollution in Antarctic waters.
The research team collected 44 microplastics smaller than 5 millimeters in diameter at five survey sites in the Antarctic Ocean earlier this year, 38 of which were collected at two survey sites close to the Antarctic continent. Based on data such as the amount of plastic particles collected and wind speed, the researchers estimated that the highest density of plastic particles in the Antarctic Sea reached 286,000 per square kilometer, which is similar to the average density of plastic particles in the North Pacific Ocean.
The research team believes that this finding shows the seriousness of global Marine microplastic pollution and the need for countries to take countermeasures. The paper will be published in the online edition of the British journal Marine Pollution Bulletin.