Scientists have revealed how buoyant plastic items can travel around six metres per minute and cross an ocean following an innovative project that combined social science and computer modelling. The University, working with the Lost at Sea Project, examined how a ship’s container, lost overboard in the North Atlantic east of New York in January 2014, resulted in printer cartridges washing up across a wide range of territories, including Florida, northern Norway and the Azores. Published in the journal Environmental Pollution, the research showed that around 1,500 items were reported on social media, and the team used oceanographic modelling tools to show how they reached their final resting place.
Annual Review 2021: Marine
Maximising our marine and maritime research strengths
