A plastic
ocean
In every ocean, circular currents create huge gyres (whirlpools) where plastic debris accumulates. Various studies have confirmed the existence of 5 gyres in the world, characterized by relatively high concentrations of floating plastics. The one in the Pacific Ocean is 6 times the area of France.
Plastic
in all
its states
Mission
microplastics 2019,
the origins of plastic
pollution at sea
Recent estimates find that 80% of plastic waste found at sea originate on land. The Tara Ocean Foundation has been involved in this research since 2010. Now it is urgent to explore and identify the flux of plastic waste from land to sea in order to stop it.
The Mission Microplastics 2019 — with the CNRS in charge of scientific coordination — has taken the schooner Tara through several regions in Europe for six months in 2019, exploring its four maritime façades and 10 major rivers.
Microscopic organisms
are at risk when
plankton and plastic
become inseparable
Microplastics are inseparable from the biodiversity of the Ocean. They colonize new environments and constitute a major risk for the balance of marine ecosystems, especially because of their association with plankton — the basis of the marine food chain.
Studies on the chemical and biological threats of micro and nanoplastic accumulation are still in their infancy. The risks to environment and therefore human health, remain uncertain to this day, while the amount of plastic in the Ocean is constantly increasing.
