Microplastics have been discovered in every corner of the globe and in just about every sample of biological tissue from our planet's creatures, humans included. Now, in a world first, marine biologists have detected tiny traces of plastic in the air exhaled from dolphins’ blow hole.
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00:00Microplastics have been discovered in every corner of the globe and in just about every
00:08sample of biological tissue from our planet's creatures, humans included.
00:12Now in a world first, marine biologists have detected tiny traces of plastic in the air
00:17exhaled from dolphins blowholes.
00:19The marine mammals that were observed as part of the study reside in Sarasota Bay and Barataria
00:24Bay just off the coast of Florida and Louisiana, respectively.
00:28The researchers say that the chemical composition of the detected particles was the same as
00:32those found in human lungs previously, pointing to a shared concern for both us and the creatures
00:37of the ocean.
00:38Though they add that they are not yet sure whether dolphins and other marine wildlife
00:41are exposed to more of these plastics than humans.
00:44Plastics get into the ocean primarily from land, as rainwater drags objects to the sea.
00:49Scientists estimate that there are 170 trillion tiny pieces of microplastic floating around
00:54our planet's oceans.
00:56Particles that make their way there are broken down into smaller pieces, with experts saying
01:00that those nanoparticles can then be sent into the atmosphere, where they can then be
01:04breathed in.
01:05Experts estimate that some 100,000 metric tons of microplastic particulate can be sent
01:09into our atmosphere by bubble bursts from waves every year.