Plastic Debris Confirmed In Southern Ocean, Previously Thought Pristine - Guardian

[hatrack]

The first traces of plastic debris have been found in what was thought to be the pristine environment of the Southern Ocean, according to a study released in London by the French scientific research vessel Tara.

The finding comes following a two-and-a-half-year, 70,000-mile voyage by the schooner across the Atlantic, Pacific, Antarctic and Indian Oceans, to investigate marine ecosystems and biodiversity under climate change.

"We had always assumed that this was a pristine environment, very little touched by human beings," said Chris Bowler, scientific co-ordinator of Tara Oceans. "The fact that we found these plastics is a sign that the reach of human beings is truly planetary in scale."

Samples taken from four different stations at locations in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica revealed traces of plastic at a measure of approximately 50,000 fragments per square kilometre — a rate comparable to the global average. While traces of plastic pollutants are customary in many of the world's oceans, with the highest levels found in the North Atlantic and North Sea, researchers had anticipated rates in the Southern Ocean to be some 10 times lower than the global average.

EDIT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/27/plastic-debris-southern-ocean-pristine

[CrispyQ]

1. "We had always assumed that this was a pristine environment, very little touched by human beings,"

Really? It baffles me that they thought this.

"Discovering plastic at these very high levels was completely unexpected because the Southern Ocean is relatively separated from the world's other oceans and does not normally mix with them," Bowler explained ...

Yes, but people live & travel in the southern hemisphere & oceans. Sea life travels from northern to southern hemisphere. Why is there any surprise at all about how interconnected we all are? When will we pull our collective head out of our collective butt & learn that we must live in harmony with nature.







on edit: Credit to Chris Jordan for his moving pictorial essay on the Gyre: http://www.chrisjordan.com/gallery/midway/#CF000313%2018x24

[Mnemosyne]

4. Oh damn, Crispy. I knew it was bad, but this essay hits so hard.

[CrispyQ]

7. Of all his essay's, this is the most heartbreaking!

[Mnemosyne]

9. It is almost unbearable. What have we wrought?!

[stuntcat]

2. k,r

Nothing on this world will be "very little touched by human beings" except maybe the core.

"Previously Thought Pristine"

[XemaSab]

3. I hate the word "pristine"

Every time I see it in a document, I take it out.

[littlemissmartypants]

6. Reminds

me of feminine hygiene product adds from the 1970's.

[littlemissmartypants]

5. I would love to

see those calculations. Silly scientists...one word...arithmetic.

researchers had anticipated rates in the Southern Ocean to be some 10 times lower than the global average.