World Oceans Day 2018
8 June 2018 is World Oceans Day. This year’s theme is preventing plastic pollution and encouraging solutions for a healthy ocean.
Plastic debris washed up on the beach or floating offshore on the surface of the water is, sadly, a common sight. However, plastic pollution is also found in places beyond areas familiar and accessible to the general public.
“Natural processes affecting the distribution and fate of plastics. In addition to physical redistribution linked to wind, waves, and surface and deep currents, a whole other suite of biological and mechanical processes influences the distribution of plastic debris and microplastics in the ocean.” From: Marine Litter Vital Graphics (2018). Cartographer: Maphoto/Riccardo Pravettoni
Ocean currents can carry plastic materials of all sizes far from their point of origin, making plastic pollution a global problem.
“Plastic currents. Discarded plastic moving around the ocean—on the surface, in the water column and on the sea floor—sometimes comes to rest. The geographical distribution of marine plastic debris is strongly influenced by the entry points and the different transport pathways, which are in turn determined by the density of plastic debris coupled with prevailing currents, wind and waves (Rech et al., 2014).” From: Marine Litter Vital Graphics (2018). Cartographer: Maphoto/Riccardo Pravettoni
Plastic pollution affects humans as well as marine life. Please do what you can to keep it out of the ocean.
