Danger documented from satellites: Giant plastic pile in the Pacific is changing the color of the ocean

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is considered one of the largest human-made environmental disasters and has reached twice the size of the American state of Texas, continues to disrupt the ecological balance of the planet. The research, signed by ocean optics experts at the University of Bergen in Norway and detailed in the Communications Earth & Environment magazine, revealed the extent of pollution in the oceans.

Examining 20 years of satellite data between 2002 and 2022, scientists detected that the ocean water in the area where the waste area is located has steadily brightened in blue and green wavelengths and shifted to a cyan tone.

TRILLIONS OF TINY PLASTIC PARTICLES BREAK LIGHT

It is estimated that the total weight of the waste accumulated in the giant current system in the North Pacific is 79 thousand tons and the number of pieces is 1.8 trillion. Although abandoned fishing nets make up the bulk, 94 percent of the total pieces are microscopic microplastic particles.

Shea Cheatham, one of the research team, stated that in the experiments they conducted in the laboratory environment, microplastics present a different optical signature than natural organic substances and phytoplankton in seawater. While natural ingredients absorb light, plastic particles have been proven to strongly scatter blue and green light simultaneously, lightening the color of the ocean and causing this tonal change that can be seen from space.

"IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO CLEAN MICROPLASTICS IN THE WATER COLUMN"

While large wastes that enter the marine environment can be collected by physical methods, it does not seem possible to purify millimetric-sized microplastics from water with current technologies. Cheatham emphasizes that these tiny particles drifting on the surface and in the depths of the water are integrated into the bottom level of the food chain in the marine ecosystem.

Experts warn that microplastics swallowed by marine creatures eventually reach the human plate, and state that the only way to stop this transformation in the oceans is to prevent plastic waste from mixing into water at the source.

SCIENTISTS WILL GO TO THE REGION FOR FIELD VERIFICATION

Although 20 years of satellite data and optical simulations directly point to the microplastic impact, the researchers plan to organize a special expedition to the coordinates where the garbage dump is located for final verification. When the optical analyzes of water samples to be taken from the region are completed, humanity's huge footprint on the oceans will once again be directly documented.