A shocking animation has been created by scientists showing the tiny movements of plastic in Earth’s oceans.     

The researchers used NASA satellite data to track the movement of microplastics – tiny plastic fragments less than five millimeters long in diameter. 

The animations show a large concentration of microplastics around the South China Sea, the Gulf of Thailand and Central America’s West Coast. 

The currents transport the plastic that has fallen into rivers and beaches to open oceans.

These plastics become small, microplastics when they are exposed to sunlight or waves. This can lead to fatal results for marine life.   

Plastic that falls into our rivers or is engulfed by tides at beaches gets transported by currents before ending up in the open ocean (stock image)

Plastic from beaches and rivers is transported to the ocean by currents.  

Eventually plastic becomes trapped in the centres of ocean basins or subtropical ‘gyres’ – large systems of rotating currents in each of the five major oceans. 

Unfortunately, the world’s five subtropical gyres can go on to host ‘garbage patches’, comprised of plastic waste, fishing gear and other debris.

WHAT ARE GARBAGE APATCHES?

The NOAA defines garbage patches as areas that have high levels of marine debris.

They form from rotating ocean currents called gyres, and are not actually ‘islands of trash,’ as commonly believed.

Most of the microplastics found on these patches come from larger plastic pieces that were broken up over time by sun, wind and waves.

Because a lot ship traffic flows through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch between California and Hawaii it is one of the most famous. 

According to NASA, 8,000,000 tons of plastic are emitted annually from beaches and rivers into the ocean. 

The animation was created by scientists at the University of Michigan and detailed in a new paper published on IEEE Xplore.

They state that the ocean microplastic concentrations vary by region, with high levels found in North Atlantic and North Pacific Gyres. 

“An innovative method has been developed to detect and image the distribution of microplastics in oceans.   

Animation showing the locations and concentrations of floating plastics from April 2017 through September 2018  

It shows some seasonal variations in microplastic concentrations – in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, for example, microplastic concentrations appear greater in the summer and lower in winter.

The ocean’s temperature is cooler, which means that there’s more vertical mixing. 

Vertical mixing refers to the movement upward or downward of water or air due to temperature variations between the layers. 

The animation and images on this page show the location and concentration of floating plastics between April 2017 to September 2018. Data were collected between approximately 38 degrees north and 38 degrees south latitude, the observation range for the CYGNSS mission

These animations and images show where and how many floating plastics were found between April 2017 and September 2018. Data were collected at 38° N and 38° South latitudes, which is the observation range for CYGNSS.

Scientists often estimate the quantity of plastic found in marine garbage by placing nets behind their boats. 

NASA’s Earth Observatory says that this sampling technique is “geographically sparse” and doesn’t give any indication of the plastic concentrations over time.

The University of Michigan scientists developed a new way to measure the amount of microplastics found in oceans all over the globe. 

The data was gathered from eight microsatellites, which are part the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System mission (CYGNSS). 

The $157million CYGNSS project was established in 2016 and is primarily intended to improve hurricane forecasting. 

Radio signals from GPS satellites reflect off of the ocean surface and CYGNSS satellites can detect these reflections. 

Researchers used  data from eight microsatellites that are part of the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) mission (one depicted here)

Researchers used  data from eight microsatellites that are part of the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) mission (one depicted here)

Scientists can then analyse the signals to measure the roughness of the ocean surface. 

This measurement provides scientists with an already useful tool to determine ocean wind speeds. It is also helpful for studying storms like hurricanes. 

If there are plastics or other debris close to the ocean’s surface, the waves will be dampened which makes the surface less rough.

‘In cleaner waters, there’s a high degree of agreement between ocean roughness and wind speed,’ said Chris Ruf, principal investigator of the CYGNSS mission and one of the two authors of the paper.

“But you’ll notice a greater difference between the wind speed and surface roughness as you go into the Great Pacific Garbage Pocket.” 

According to the team, this new technique will allow for better ocean microplastic monitoring and “support future model design and validation”. 

Researchers at Kyushu University discovered that the ocean contains 24.4 trillion bits of microplastics and they are still counting. 

WHAT ARE MICROPLASTICS AND HOW DO THEY GET INTO OUR WATERWAYS?

Microplastics can be described as plastic particles with a diameter of less than 5mm (0.2 inches).

These stories have been in the news for years because of improper disposal that has led to tonnes of trash being dumped into the sea.

Toxic quantities of plastic waste end up in our oceans every year. 

While it is not known how these microplastics get into the water, simple wear and tear in clothing or carpets could allow them to enter.

If they are vented to the outside, tumble dryers could also act as a source. 

Plastics won’t decay for many thousands of years, and there is already a lot of it in the oceans. The number of plastic waste in the oceans is likely to increase. 

Study results also showed that 700,000 plastic fibres may be released in the atmosphere by washing machines.

Due to their varying sizes, current water systems cannot effectively remove all microplastic contaminants.  

A 2016 report revealed that plastic waste in the oceans of the world will surpass fish in 2050, provided the world doesn’t take drastic measures to recycle.

According to research released in September 2017, more than 80 per cent are contaminated with plastics.

Experts at the University of Minnesota determined that US is the country with the highest levels of contamination, at 93%. India was next, and Lebanon came in third.

France, Germany, UK and Spain have the lowest levels but still manage to reach 72 per cent.

Microplastics are found in 83% of the water samples taken from many countries around the globe.

Microplastics could be harmful to organs, according to scientists. 

Scientists have discovered that bottled water is not a safe alternative to tap water.

All sizes and shapes of creatures have been shown to have eaten the plastics either directly or indirectly.

Microplastics also absorb toxic chemicals. This is what previous research shows.