What a load of rubbish

Researchers at Oceanography Institution gawp at the garbage

Gross media attention but little scientific information - what a load of rubbish!

The above is the reasoning behind a research expedition which saw a group of students and scientists collecting samples of plastic rubbish floating in the Pacific Ocean

The cruise, which lasted about three weeks, involved researchers tracking down plastic to determine the level of the problem of rubbish in our oceans.

"We did observe a lot of plastic ... about 1,000 miles from anything," said chief scientist Miriam Goldstein. "It's pretty shocking."

The debris at the centre of the North Pacific has the potential to damage marine life and alter the biological environment.

A group from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Project Kaisei visited research vessel New Horizon taking swatches and surveying the dubbed ‘plastic garbage patch’. Despite receiving huge media attention, there wa little scientific information on the composition, extent and effect of debris in the world's vast expanses of water.

The small pieces of plastic afloat in the Pacific are not detectable by satellites. Hence researchers requiring detailed case studies must use ships to travel to this remote area.
Over the coming months the experts will analyse the samples to learn about the patch's toxicity and how it affects ocean life and food webs.

“Most of the plastic discovered were small remnants, about the size of a thumbnail, and floating beneath the surface.” Goldstein concluded.

For more information on the research and expedition, visit http://sio.ucsd.edu/Expeditions/Seaplex/