Plastic rocks have been found on a remote island

Santos first encountered the plastic rocks in 2019 when he traveled to the island to do research for his doctoral thesis on landslides, erosion and other geological hazards. He was working near a nature reserve called Turtle Beach, which is endangered green turtle The largest fertile land in the world when He came across strange looking blue green rocks.

Evidence for the Anthropocene

Out of curiosity, he brought some back to his lab after his two-month journey. Upon analyzing them, he and his team identified the samples as a new type of geological formation in which they are located The materials and processes Earth has used for billions of years to form rock have been mixed with a new ingredient, plastic waste – writes Phys.org Scientific portal.

“We have come to the conclusion that man now acts as a geological agent, influencing processes that were previously quite natural: such as rock formation. This suits her Anthropocene To the idea that scientists talk about a lot these days, which is the geological age of man affecting the natural processes of the planet. This type of rock-like plastic survives in the geological record and is representative of the AnthropoceneHe told the French news agency.

Shocking data: The way e-waste is flooding our world is brutal

Santos, a professor at the Federal University of Paraná in southern Brazil, said the discovery angered and upset him. Trinidad A tropical paradise, a beautiful island that provides shelter to all sorts of species – seabirds, fish that only live there, almost extinct crabs, and green turtles, due to its remote location. The only human presence on the South Atlantic island is a small Brazilian military base and scientific research center. “nice place. That’s why it was even more terrifying to find something like thisMoreover, in one of the most important regions of the country from an ecological point of view.

He returned to the island late last year to collect more samples and delve deeper into the phenomenon. Find out in his search Since 2014, similar rock-like plastic formations have already been reported From Hawaii, Great Britain, Italy, Japan and more. But Trinidad Island is the most remote place on the planet where they have been found so far. Now the professor fears that as the rocks erode, microplastics will seep into the environment and further pollute the island’s food chain.

They are classified into categories

Published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin in September in his studies He and his team The new types of “rocks” found around the world have been classified into several types. “plastiglomerates,” which look like sedimentary rocks; “Pyroplasts,” which resemble ventral rocks; and a previously unknown type, “plasticstones,” which are similar to igneous rocks formed from lava flows.

“Marine pollution is causing a paradigm shift in our understanding of rock and sedimentary formations. Human interventions are now so widespread that one has to wonder what is really normalI wrote his collection.

The main component of the rocks that Santos discovered was the remains of fishing nets, was established. But ocean currents also washed a lot of bottles, household waste and other plastic waste from all over the world onto the island. Santos said he plans to make the topic his main research topic. “Trindade is the cleanest place I’ve ever seen. Given how vulnerable it is to the waste that pollutes our oceans, it’s clear how widespread the problem is around the world.”