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Credit: Photo by Sara Hylton, National Geographic. Taken on assignment for National Geographic s
The Ganges River - with the combined flows of the Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers - could be responsible for up to 3 billion microplastic particles entering the Bay of Bengal every day, according to new research.
The study represents the first investigation of microplastic abundance, characteristics and seasonal variation along the river and was conducted using samples collected by an international team of scientists as part of the National Geographic Society s Sea to Source: Ganges expedition.
Over two expeditions in 2019, 120 samples (60 each in pre- and post-monsoon conditions) were gathered at 10 sites by pumping river water through a mesh filter to capture any particles.
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Combined flows send up to 3 billion microplastics a day into Bay of Bengal
The Ganges River – with the combined flows of the Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers – could be responsible for up to 3 billion microplastic particles entering the Bay of Bengal every day, according to new research.
The study represents the first investigation of microplastic abundance, characteristics and seasonal variation along the river and was conducted using samples collected by an international team of scientists as part of the National Geographic Society’s Sea to Source: Ganges expedition.
Over two expeditions in 2019, 120 samples (60 each in pre- and post-monsoon conditions) were gathered at 10 sites by pumping river water through a mesh filter to capture any particles.
River Ganga could send 3 bn microplastics a day into Bay of Bengal
By IANS |
Published on
Fri, Jan 22 2021 21:12 IST |
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Kolkata, Jan 22 : With the combined flows of the Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers, the Ganga river could be responsible for up to 3 billion microplastic particles entering the Bay of Bengal every day, according to new research by an international team of scientists.
The microplastics identified were dominated by fibers and fragments, according to the study.
Ganga rises in the Himalayas and runs through India and Bangladesh, where it joins the Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers shortly before reaching the Indian Ocean.
The combined flows of the three rivers are the largest in South Asia and form the most populous basin in the world, with over 655 million inhabitants relying on the water it provides.
The Ganges River is one of the biggest rivers in the world, providing water for a whopping half a billion people.
But a worrying new study has warned that the river, with the combined flows of the Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers, could be responsible for up to three billion microplastic particles entering the Bay of Bengal every day.
Researchers hope the findings will provide the first step in understanding how the Ganges River, as well as other major rivers, may contribute to oceanic microplastic.
A new study has warned that the Ganges river, with the combined flows of the Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers - could be responsible for up to three billion microplastic particles entering the Bay of Bengal every day