2011 Japan Tsunami Sent a Million Sea Creatures Across Pacific Ocean on Plastic and Other Nonbiodegr

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https://weather.com/news/news/japan-tsunami-2011-sea-creatures-pacific-ocean-plastic-debris

Published Thursday in the journal Science, the findings estimate 1 million creatures made up of nearly 300 different species have drifted across the Pacific Ocean and reached the shores of North America over the last six years. The vehicle that transferred them across the sea, the scientists say, was nonbiodegradable debris sent into the water during the tsunami.

"This has turned out to be one of the biggest unplanned natural experiments in marine biology – perhaps in history," John Chapman, an expert at Oregon State University and a co-author of the study, told the Guardian.


One danger from this mass migration is that some of these species, if they become well-established, could take over ecosystems and cause major problems with native wildlife, the scientists also said.

But perhaps the biggest takeaway is the way these vehicles for travel, mostly made of plastic, fiberglass or styrofoam, are capable of surviving thousands of miles across an ocean without breaking down. For example, one 180-ton floating dock broke free during the tsunami and arrived on the Oregon coast about 15 months after the disaster. The dock carried more than 120 different species across the ocean, according to the New York Time