Microplastics found in up to 90% of salt world-wide

1. 2019-11-13 at 5:03 PM UTC

   #21
   

   Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Dark Matter [my scoffingly uncritical tinning]

   Originally posted by Cly Speak of plastic, where does it go? Does it get absorbed at subversive plate boundaries or what?

   
   It forms a part of the carbon cycle. Eventually it burns or is digested or is hit by UV light and returns to the atmosphere for plants to sequester. Or maybe it just lies around forever, like most carbon.
   
   
2. 2019-11-13 at 5:06 PM UTC

   #22
   

   6011UM Tuskegee Airman

   Originally posted by ORACLE It doesn't count if you can see it with the baked eye

3. 2019-11-13 at 5:10 PM UTC

   #23
   

   Cly African Astronaut [foredate your moneyless friar's-cowl]

   Originally posted by Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country It forms a part of the carbon cycle. Eventually it burns or is digested or is hit by UV light and returns to the atmosphere for plants to sequester. Or maybe it just lies around forever, like most carbon.
   
   

   
   It must go into the mantle?
4. 2019-11-13 at 5:17 PM UTC

   #24
   

   ORACLE Naturally Camouflaged

   Originally posted by Cly It must go into the mantle?

   
   No
5. 2019-11-13 at 5:22 PM UTC

   #25
   

   Cly African Astronaut [foredate your moneyless friar's-cowl]
   It does go in the mantle.
6. 2019-11-13 at 5:25 PM UTC

   #26
   

   ORACLE Naturally Camouflaged

   Originally posted by Cly It does go in the mantle.

   
   Not specifically.
7. 2019-11-13 at 5:27 PM UTC

   #27
   

   Cly African Astronaut [foredate your moneyless friar's-cowl]

   Originally posted by ORACLE Not specifically.

   
   Outrage
8. 2019-11-13 at 5:28 PM UTC

   #28
   

   Cly African Astronaut [foredate your moneyless friar's-cowl]

   Originally posted by Cly It must go into the mantle?

   
   
   
   

   Originally posted by ORACLE No

   
   
   
   

   Originally posted by Cly It does go in the mantle.

   
   
   
   

   Originally posted by ORACLE Not specifically.

   
   Well then, where does it go?
9. 2019-11-13 at 5:36 PM UTC

   #29
   

   Cly African Astronaut [foredate your moneyless friar's-cowl]

   Originally posted by ORACLE That's not really a question with any single answer, just imagine it is like dust, it will get in everything and stay in circulation until perchance it hits a process that removes it without reintroduction. Such as subduction. But I doubt it. Many plastics contain air molecules in their porous interior, and a bit of water in their porous exterior and it usually makes it a little less dense than water overall. So in net they can rise rather than fall. Although there are other factors at play.

   
   No, the plastic would degrade and sink.
10. 2019-11-13 at 5:39 PM UTC

    #30
    

    6011UM Tuskegee Airman

    Originally posted by Cly No, the plastic would degrade and sink.

    
    Explicitly wrong. You are as dumb as you look.
11. 2019-11-13 at 5:39 PM UTC

    #31
    

    ORACLE Naturally Camouflaged

    Originally posted by Cly Well then, where does it go?

    
    Read above. It's like asking "where does dust go?" Nowhere specific. It just hangs out in the water until it's removed by some process. Subduction could be part of that for sure. But that is a RIDICULOUSLY slow process that takes place on geological timescales. No, it's not gonna remove a significant amount of plastics.
12. 2019-11-13 at 5:40 PM UTC

    #32
    

    ORACLE Naturally Camouflaged

    Originally posted by Cly No, the plastic would degrade and sink.

    
    "Plastic" is a class. There are innumerable different types of plastics. Some might. Some might not. It's not fixed. But even the ones that "degrade", simply break into smaller pieces.