Millions of tons of microplastics flood our oceans every year. They are tiny synthetic particles, imperceptible to the human eye, but not for the microscope designed by Spanish researchers with the aim of mapping the presence of these toxic residues in the sea.
“We can find them now even if you go to 11,000 meters deep“, explained Francisco López, researcher at the UPCT and founder of CORI, who added: “You can find them in the organisms that live there.” The new tool is low cost, less than 100 euros, and its open code will allow its mass production.
Both researchers and scuba divers they will be able to explore the ocean in detail. “To discover that microscopic world that exists in the oceans and that is not usually seen and that is so unknown”, López pointed out. The microscope, designed in Cartagena, is now entering a phase whose objective will be to distinguish these residues more clearly.
“When they degrade, microplastics look like any other organic matter in the oceans. So, the idea is to stain them so they can bloom and see them better under the microscope“, has detailed the UPCT researcher and founder of CORI. A third of the microplastics that reach the oceans do so through washing machines.
Once in the sea they are very difficult to eliminate precisely due to their small size. Now at least we can quantify its presence on all our shores.
Source: Lasexta
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