Recent comments in /f/science

AllanfromWales1 t1_ja42tnn wrote

I just looked it up. Estimated total quantity of plastic produced to date since plastic production started is about 10 billion tonnes. Estimated total weight of seawater in the world is around 1.5 billion billion tonnes. So even if all that plastic was in the seas, there would be 150 million times as much water as plastic. In reality it's only a problem when the amount of plastic particles in a particular location is very much higher than the global average.

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catsandraj t1_ja42n8w wrote

Something seeming to be common sense isn't the same as 7scientific investigation. Lots of things seem intuitively true but aren't, and foundational research paves the way for more complex studies. You can't base a study on something that seems about right, but you can base it on previously published research that supports your premise.

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ouath t1_ja41k0c wrote

The maximum densities are between 0 and 100 m depth for plankton. Is it representative of Danish waters ? Is it the same for microplastics or below 300 nm plastics can dive further ?

The first part of the title could have been better

Good news for the second part though

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The_Original_Gronkie t1_ja3v3fj wrote

Sea life is collapsing everywhere. For instance, over the last decade or so, invasive lionfish have exploded in the waters between Florida and the Bahamas, throwing the animal balance way out of whack. I haven't been back to the Caribbean in a long time, but I'm sure it's feeling the negative affects as well.

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