Point Nemo is the name of the point in the South Pacific that is furthest away from the nearest land on earth – Microplastics can now also be found there in seawater. This was the result of the evaluation of data by scientists from the Geomar Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel. The center and the Kiel Cluster of Excellence “The Future Ocean” had equipped two yachts with sensors for the “Volvo Ocean Race” sailing regatta.
“Among other things, we can now trace the distribution of microplastics in the ocean along the entire regatta route, including in regions where they have not yet been searched,” commented marine chemist Toste Tanhua, according to a Geomar announcement on Friday. The concentration of the microplastic particles is very different from region to region, said Sören Gutekunst from the Cluster of Excellence “The Future Ocean”, which had technically supervised the Geomar project in the past few months. The highest concentrations were found along the regatta route in the Mediterranean and the western Pacific. The regatta is due to end on Saturday in The Hague.