When scientists recently analyzed the structure of weathered beach Legos using X-ray fluorescence, they found that it could take up to 1,300 years for Legos from the 1997 spill to degrade entirely, researchers reported in July 2020 in the journal Environmental Pollution. In fact, it may be even longer than a few hundred years until the lost Lego pieces break down. "It's providing us with an insight into what happens to plastic in the ocean, how far it drifts - both on the surface of the ocean but also along the seabed - and what happens to it as it breaks down." But one of the big problems with plastic pollution is that it can take centuries to degrade in the ocean, and as it deteriorates it releases chemicals that can harm animals' hormones and disrupt their reproduction, according to the American Chemical Society. "What we're finding now are the pieces that sank as well as the pieces that floated," she said. Plastic legacy: Humankind's trash is now a new rock In images: The great Pacific garbage patch Plastic bag waste litters landscape (Infographic) Williams and her family have probably collected thousands of Legos since the time of the spill, she told Live Science. Other accounts of rogue waves report them to be over 50ft to 70ft. Beating that was when a fishing boat was hit in 1991, and a series of buoys in the area recorded a rogue wave at 100.7 feet. In 2015, the BBC mapped more than 40 beach locations in Cornwall where people had reported collecting wayward Lego bits. The rogue way that hit Queen Elizabeth 2 was estimated to be up to 96ft in height, possibly the largest rogue wave ever witnessed. The ship's manifest listed 4,756,940 Lego pieces that were lost at sea, of which 3,178,807 were light enough to float, Cornwall Live reported. 13 rogue wave as a "once in a 100-year phenomenon" that first rocked the ship 60 degrees in one direction and then 40 degrees in the opposite direction, according to the BBC. The captain of the Tokio Express described the Feb. Also known as extreme storm waves, rogue waves are thought to form out of merging swells the resulting wall of water can measure dozens of feet high and may rise suddenly and unexpectedly from a direction other than that of visible surface waves, the NOS says. However, evidence in recent decades has shown that these waves do exist, though their unpredictability makes them difficult to track and study, according to the National Ocean Service (NOS). (Image credit: Courtesy of Tracey Williams)įor centuries, rogue waves - immensely tall and dangerous ocean waves that seemingly appeared out of nowhere - were thought to exist only in maritime legends. Spilled Lego from the Tokio Express included tens of thousands of dragons, making them a common sight on Cornwall beaches.
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