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Floating Junk Creating New Marine Ecosystem

Researchers say the "plastisphere" — marine ecosystems of floating trash — may provide platforms for pathogens and leach dangerous chemicals into the water.

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Pete Matamoros, 81, walks near the Colorado River under U.S. Highway 183 at the Colorado River Wildlife Sanctuary in Austin, picking up trash as a form of exercise.
Credit: Spencer Selvidge

According to the Los Angeles Times, the environmental effects of the so-called plastisphere "are only beginning to be understood." The term refers to discarded trash that reaches the ocean and is creating a marine ecosystem. Researchers have theorized that floating junk may provide platforms for pathogens and that the plastisphere may break down and leach dangerous chemicals into the ocean.

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