Corals may store a surprising amount of microplastics in their skeletons [ScienceNews, November, 2021]

Title:

Corals may store a surprising amount of microplastics in their skeletons 

 

Author:

Rebecca Dzombak

Published:

ScienceNews, November, 2021]

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/coral-reef-microplastics-skeletons

 

From the article:

Up to about 20,000 metric tons of tiny fragments called microplastics may be stored in coral skeletons worldwide every year, says ecologist Jessica Reichert of Justus Liebig University Giessen in Germany.

More than 1.5 billion masks believed to have entered oceans in 2020 [Thedenverchannel.com, 24 December 2020]

Title:

More than 1.5 billion masks believed to have entered oceans in 2020

Author:

Amanda Brandeis

Published:

Thedenverchannel.com, 24 December 2020

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/national/more-than-1-5-billion-masks-believed-to-have-entered-oceans-in-2020

From the article:

 SAN DIEGO, Calif. — For months, we’ve seen face masks in places they shouldn’t be: storm drains, streets, beaches and parks.  

 

Now, we’re learning just how many could be flooding our oceans.  

 

“Once plastic enters the marine environment, it’s very difficult to move," said Dr. Teale Phelps Bondaroff, director of research for OceansAsia.