Finding trash in the Mariana Channel is a strong reminder that we need to take care of our seas. We need to take real action!
The Mariana Trench is the deepest place in the ocean. People used to think that it was a clean abyss that wasn’t affected by human activity.
But new research has broken this mask and shown the shocking truth about how much plastic is polluting the world, even in the most rural places.
A plastic bag, which was found at the bottom of the Mariana Channel, is a powerful message about the bad things that will happen if people don’t be careful about how they use and throw away plastic. This essay goes into detail about what this shocking discovery means for our world and the marine life that lives in its fragile areas.
The Mariana Channel might look like a lonely, empty space, but it is actually full of action. Many kinds of sea creatures have lived in the depths of the channel, such as coral, jellyfish, and octopus. The study also found that 17% of the pictures of plastic in the Remote Ocean Garbage Dataset showed animals interacting with the plastic. These incidents, which included getting tangled up in plastic and eating it, show how dangerous plastic pollution is for sea life right now.
Plastic pollution is a worldwide issue that is getting worse and is bad for people, animals, and the earth. Most of the time, single-use plastics like the plastic bag found in the Mariana Channel are to blame. The quick use and disposal of them sends them into the oceans through many different ways.
The Remote Ocean Flotsam and Jetsam Dataset study showed that plastic is the type of trash that is most often found in the water. A lot of this waste comes from plastic bags in particular. Surprisingly, 89% of the plastic found in the Mariana Channel was only used once. This is a clear sign of how throwaway plastic has changed our lives.
People may not feel responsible for the plastic pollution found in the Mariana Trench because it is so far away from human towns and in a remote area. No matter what, this idea couldn’t be more wrong. The start of the plastic found in the channel’s depths show how much of an impact humans have on nature.
Also, fishing gear that has been thrown away is a major source of plastic waste. Studies show that this kind of trash makes up most of the big piles of trash, like the Incomparable Pacific Trash Fix that moves between Hawaii and California.
Read: A student makes a 3D-printed fish that can clean lakes by eating microplastics
Marine life is in danger because plastic pollution adds poisonous chemicals to the water. Plastics break down slowly over time, turning into microplastics, which are smaller and smaller pieces. The microplastics can then build up in the water until they end up on the ocean bottom, even in places like the Mariana Channel that are very deep in the ocean.
According to research, the chemicals found in the channel may have come from the breakdown of plastic in the water area. Because these toxins are so different, it makes people worry about how they might affect sea life and the species that live in the water.
The world should take note of the clear message sent by the plastic bag found in the Mariana Channel. It represents the long-term effects of using too much plastic and not properly getting rid of trash. The whole world needs to take urgent action to deal with this major problem and safeguard our planet and its waters for future generations.