Neptune Balls
- Recently researchers have found that seabed underwater in coastal areas creates plastic bundles, called Neptune balls, by clogging plastic pollution.
- According to a study reported in a journal called Scientific Reports, shallow seabed plants collect 900 million plastic objects per year in the shallow seaside plant in the Mediterranean alone without human help.
Major findings of the research study:
- This research has been done by biologists at the University of Barcelona in the region of the Mediterranean.
- The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, states that nearly 900 million plastic items are collected in the Mediterranean alone every year without the help of humans.
- This plastic debris gets trapped in the remnants of sea grass and reaches the beach.
- Sea grass represents continuous purification by removing plastic debris from the ocean naturally.
Sea grass:
- Sea grass is an underwater grass found in the sea and oceans. Sea grasses are flowering sea plants, adapted to ocean conditions.
- Sea grasses take energy from sunlight and get nutritious elements and carbon dioxide from sea water. Scientists suggest that sea grasses can prove to be helpful in fighting climate change and also compensate for carbon emissions.
Usage of Sea grass:
A large part of sea grass farming is used for food, but its extracts are used in a variety of things – be it toothpaste, cosmetic, medicines, or pet food.
They all contain hydrocolloids which come from sea grass itself. Apart from this, it is now being used as an alternative to textiles and plastics, in making water capsules and also as a drinking straw. The production of sea grass is at its peak at the moment.
Source: The Hindu
