Surprisingly large amounts of discarded trash end up in the ocean. Plastic bags, aluminum cans, and fishing debris not only clutter our beaches, but accumulate in open-ocean areas such as the "Great Pacific ...

Space & Earth - Environment

Jun 05, 2013 5 / 5 (4) 0

Scientists have just completed an unprecedented journey into the vast and little-explored "Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch."

Space & Earth - Earth Sciences

Aug 27, 2009 3.8 / 5 (37) 29

The discovery, by a team from Plymouth University and the UK Marine Biological Association, highlights the growing problem of plastic contamination of marine environments.

Biology - Ecology

Jan 21, 2013 5 / 5 (2) 0 |

Scientists from around the world have called for laws to tackle the growing problem of plastic waste.

Space & Earth - Environment

Feb 13, 2013 3 / 5 (7) 12 |

A 100-fold upsurge in human-produced plastic garbage in the ocean is altering habitats in the marine environment, according to a new study led by a graduate student researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography ...

Space & Earth - Environment

May 08, 2012 3.8 / 5 (8) 8 |

(Phys.org)—Biologists record increasing amounts of plastic litter in the Arctic deep sea: studies confirm that twice as much marine debris is lying on the seabed today compared to ten years ago

Space & Earth - Environment

Oct 23, 2012 5 / 5 (1) 2 |

(Phys.org) -- While working on a research sailboat gliding over glassy seas in the Pacific Ocean, oceanographer Giora Proskurowski noticed something new: The water was littered with confetti-size pieces of ...

Space & Earth - Earth Sciences

Apr 25, 2012 4.6 / 5 (5) 0 |

There is a lot of plastic trash floating in the Pacific Ocean, but claims that the "Great Garbage Patch" between California and Japan is twice the size of Texas are grossly exaggerated, according to an analysis ...

Space & Earth - Environment

Jan 04, 2011 4.5 / 5 (21) 78 |

Southern California researchers have found evidence of ingestion of plastic among small fish in the northern Pacific Ocean in a study that they say shows the troubling effect floating litter is having on marine life in the ...

Biology - Ecology

Mar 11, 2011 3 / 5 (2) 1

In the first study to look at what happens over the years to the billions of pounds of plastic waste floating in the world's oceans, scientists are reporting that plastics -- reputed to be virtually indestructible ...

Chemistry - Other

Aug 19, 2009 4.5 / 5 (19) 1

Despite growing awareness of the problem of plastic pollution in the world's oceans, little solid scientific information existed to illustrate the nature and scope of the issue. This week, a team of researchers ...

Space & Earth - Environment

Aug 19, 2010 3.3 / 5 (7) 1 |

Hoping to learn more about one of the most glaring examples of waste and environmental pollution on Earth, a group of scientists will set sail from San Francisco Tuesday to the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch," a massive vortex ...

Space & Earth - Environment

Aug 04, 2009 4.6 / 5 (9) 0

Floating plastic debris—which helps populate the infamous "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" in the Pacific Ocean—has become a problem in the Great Lakes, the largest body of fresh water in the world. Scientists reported on ...

Space & Earth - Environment

Apr 09, 2013 5 / 5 (3) 1

A Russian ship has found debris from the Japanese tsunami, including a fishing boat, floating adrift in the Pacific thousands of kilometres from the disaster zone, a Hawaiian research group said.

Space & Earth - Earth Sciences

Oct 16, 2011 4 / 5 (1) 0

Millions of tonnes of plastic debris dumped each year in the world's oceans could pose a lethal threat to whales, according to a scientific assessment to be presented at a key international whaling forum this ...

Biology - Ecology

Jul 10, 2011 5 / 5 (3) 4