Discover Top Posts Tagged with #plastiglomerate

Plastiglomerate - The Mark of the Adder Lies Dormant in the Baltic Sea

Tribe Tapes

2021

#Plastiglomerate #The Mark of the Adder #Tribe Tapes #noise

This is an artist's interpretation of a new phenomenon in the rock record: a plastiglomerate. Made of a combination of plastics, shell, and rock, this mass of non-biodegradable material is a replica of what is being found in nature, which may be a future marker of the Anthropocene.

The Anthropocene is the current geological era in which humans are making a profound impact on the geological strata. While the term itself is still being debated by geologists, the museum is embracing it as a social and cultural tool for exploring the broad sum effect humans are having on the planet in the exhibition We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene—open now through summer 2018.

#plastiglomerate #Anthropocene #WeAreNaturePgh #museum

PLASTIGLOMERATE – The destructive legacy of mankind

It is likely that in the next 100 000 years the modern concept of Homo sapiens that we know and love will cease to exist, just as it is difficult to fathom the everyday lives of humans from 100 000 years before us. Our early ancestors left intriguing skeletal remains, stone tools and primitive art to help us decipher their lifestyles. We are leaving behind plastic… mainly.

Plastic has become so pervasive a substance that it can be found in some of the most remote locations including untouched, pristine tropical islands and in the deepest recesses of our oceans (mentioned previously in the post: EARTH’S MICROPLASTICS PROBLEM). But who would’ve thought it would find its way into the very earth itself? In 2014, Patricia Corcoran and colleagues produced a research article on the troubling occurrence of a novel geological phenomenon in Kamilo Beach, Hawaii. Plastiglomerate is a newly classified type of rock that many believe will mark the start of the Anthropocene, or the era in which technologically advanced humans have evolved. This is because it consists of naturally occurring debris and sediment that have combined with molten plastic and hardened together to form an often colourful, rocky clump. It is found predominantly in coastal regions and is believed to form from plastic pollution in contact with lava flow, forest fires or bon fires. Kamilo Beach is different from bathing beaches where constant human influence introduces plastic regularly. It is a remote coastal stretch that experiences influxes of marine debris from a nearby gyre. Except that most recently, the debris consists of plastic in various forms. Two types of plastiglomerate were encountered, namely clastic and in situ. Clastic plastiglomerate was described as an agglomerate of basalt, coral, seashells, woody debris and sand held together in a plastic matrix. The in situ type plastiglomerate was seen as plastic debris that had adhered to rocky surfaces, or molten plastic that had filled into the gaps in volcanic rock known as volcanic vesicles, becoming a part of the landscape.

So besides being the marker of our plastic revolution, what’s the worst impact that plastiglomerate can have? The formation of plastiglomerate in Kamilo Beach is thought to be driven largely by campfires and bonfires. The burning of plastic is known to release a variety of noxious chemicals which may cause cancer and affect the endocrine system. The formation of plastiglomerate from extreme heat has led researchers to infer that volcanic activity may also promote its formation. Additionally, the near-immortality of plastic poses significant environmental implications. Plastic can take thousands of years to decompose, but the products of its decomposition and its affinity to often toxic compounds is a direct threat to marine and coastal systems. Unless we want to be remembered for our toxic contributions to the environment, we need to make some serious changes in our plastic-driven habits.

KR.

References and further reading:

http://bit.ly/2tqaNGz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastiglomerate http://bit.ly/2upfWCO http://bit.ly/2tqvQc5

Image: http://bit.ly/2ukwtbx

#Plastiglomerate #Plastic #Rock #Geology #Science #Environment #beach #The earth story #debris

Plastiglomerate sample/ready-made collected by geologist Patricia Corcoran and sculptor Kelly Jazvac at Kamilo Beach, Hawai'i, 2012

Photos: Kelly Wood & Jeff Elstone

#Plastiglomerate #Kelly Jazvac #Patricia Corcoran #Plastic #Sand #Kelly Wood #Jeff Elstone #basalt #coral #shells #debris #residue #volcanic rock #conglomerate

Patricia Corcoran, Huffington Post 2017

This is an image of plastiglomerate, the composite material formed by “melted plastics, marine debris and volcanic rock” (Altman, Aeon 2017). These sedimentary layers formed by plastic are an example of a new geological layer caused by anthropogenic pollution.

-MJH & VRP

#toxicworlds #plastiglomerate #toxicseas