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I find it interesting that the interpretation is that this is a tragedy, rather than it being fortunate that a geological process is capturing plastic into the
by gnode 7y ago
I find it interesting that the interpretation is that this is a tragedy, rather than it being fortunate that a geological process is capturing plastic into the lithosphere, where it will be removed from the biosphere.
- scrumper 7y agoThe point was that it isn't removing it from the biosphere - molluscs that feed on algae-covered rock are now setting up on this plasticrust stuff and consuming it along with the algae.
- TomMarius 7y agoWhy is that bad? Actual question - I'm a programmer, not a doctor (biologist :-))
- undersuit 7y agoThe Gizmondo article provides two links to the observed effects of plastic in the ecosystem in the paragraph where it's mentioned that the animal life feeding near the Plasticrust maybe be consuming said plastic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/06/plastic-planet-health-pollution-waste-microplastics/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/06/plastic-... https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/from-fish-to-humans-a-microplastic-invasion-may-be-taking-a-toll/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/from-fish-to-huma...
- TomMarius 7y agoHmm now I'm confused. The articles you sent are about microplastics in fishes, I thought the comment I replied to was about microbes which should (I really don't know though) break the plastic down...? Edit: Now I see that I have misread the comment and confused molluscs for microbes.
- scrumper 7y agoToxins and other foreign non-food things (heavy metals, plastics, etc.) tend to get quite highly concentrated as you go up a food chain. So a little tiny dose of e.g. mercury absorbed by, say, some krill that are then eaten by fish, who are in turn eaten by bigger fish, that are finally caught by fishermen, can result in quite high concentrations by the time we humans eat it. Same with plastics consumed by these molluscs - they feed things which feed things which feed things which feed us, and we end up taking in really quite a lot of plastic as a result.
- gnode 7y ago> it isn't removing it from the biosphere This doesn't make sense to me. While some plastic is eroded or eaten from the rock's surface, all of it originated from the ocean where it was available to enter the biosphere anyway. From their appearance, it seems the surface of these rocks is continually buried by sedimentation, which would capture at least some proportion of the plastic. Conversely to the biological interaction being detrimental, I wonder whether it could be beneficial. Conceivably the biofilm may adhesively capture plastic, binding it to the rock and facilitating its capture beneath sediment. Additionally, in biochemical sedimentary rock formation, molluscs contribute to the growth of the rock by forming shells which adhere to the rock.
- 205guy 7y agoYou're making the same mistake again: the rocky coastline of a volcanic island in the middle of an ocean does not become sedimentary. It is constantly being eroded. The plasticrust that is not ingested/incorporated by molluscs and seaweed will be eroded by more waves and be redistributed as molecules in the ocean water. If the island is tropical, a small amount of plastic may get stuck long enough in or to the rocks for coral to grow around it and trap it. But this is probably an insignificant amount compared to all the plastic that is being released and broken down in the ecosystem.