Science The Cool Down Experts discover concerning phenomenon lurking in ocean waters: ‘The theory is valid’

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Finding plastic in the ocean isn’t difficult; it’s abundant and easy to see. However, locating where microplastics accumulate is much more challenging.

What’s happening?

Our oceans are saturated with plastic pollution and microplastics, small particles less than five millimeters in size. While locating larger pieces of plastic in the water is relatively simple — there are entire garbage patches — tiny microplastics are much harder to detect. This makes figuring out where they’ve accumulated beneath the ocean’s surface a challenge.

However, researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution published a study in Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science proposing that these minute particles may gather into a circular current. If the theory holds, this could be a step toward detecting microplastics in our waters.

To test the theory, researchers examined 3D models of fluid flows to determine how particles aggregate within them. At first approximation, one would believe that microplastics simply follow the trajectories of any fluid they get caught in.

However, microplastics have inertia, which causes them to disrupt fluids and deviate from their typical trajectory. As such, the researchers discovered that microplastics accumulate in the middle of tube-like structures winding around circular currents, making the structures “attractors” for these tiny particles, per the study.

As shared by The American Institute of Physics, researcher Larry Pratt explained, “The main thing we need to consider is the effects of small-scale turbulence. The theory is valid for spherical particles, but most microplastics in the ocean have very irregular shapes.”

Why are microplastics in the ocean harmful?

Plastic pollution in the ocean has caused significant damage to marine life and ecosystems.

Marine mammals become entangled in plastic debris, leading to death or injury and contributing to declines in animal populations. This isn’t the only danger, though.

Plastic pollution sheds an unknowable amount of microplastics into the seas. When animals consume these microplastics, they can be harmed. Additionally, humans may then eat this seafood, allowing microplastics to accumulate in their bodies.

Scientists have linked microplastics to a wealth of health issues. One study found a link between microplastics and liver fibrosis, and another study discovered a possible link to erectile dysfunction. Microplastics can cause other reproductive harm, gastrointestinal issues, and additional health risks.

What’s being done about microplastics?

Microplastics are a problem with no definitive answer, but many, like these researchers, are studying how to clean them up. So far, researchers have discovered possible ways to remove microplastics from soil, reduce their effects on the human body, and filter them out of water.

In daily life, we can each reduce the amount of plastic we use and properly dispose of the plastic we discard to support efforts to reduce microplastics in our environment and our bodies.

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