2024-09-07 08:46:15
EXPLANATION – An unprecedented study carried out using the European satellite Sentinel-2 shows the extent of this ecological disaster: more than 14,000 lines of plastic floating on the surface have been identified. Very popular with vacationers from all over the world, the Mediterranean Sea has a special importance.
If the pollution due to plastic is one of the major challenges for the world’s biodiversity, it is because of its size and their lifespan. It has been estimated that between 6 and 12 million tons of plastic are dumped into the oceans each year, which comes in all forms: eaten by wildlife, at the bottom of the ocean, on beaches, broken into microplastics, floating, etc.
For the latter, a recent study clarified their aim. Spanish researchers analyzed 300,000 satellite images of the entire Mediterranean Sea. After six years of observation, they succeeded in establishing a general vision of the pollution of floating plastic waste. More than 14,000 plastic strips, each averaging one kilometer long, have been identified.
Carried by rivers and streams
The results obtained, thanks to the images from the European Sentinel-2 satellite, show the uneven distribution of plastic waste, which is mainly around ten kilometers from the Mediterranean coast…
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