Recently there have been some good and bad news regarding world oceans. At the beginning of this month member states of the United Nations finally agreed on a treaty to protect international waters (1). According to a recent study there is a “growing plastic smog” of more than 170 trillion particles floating in the world’s oceans – there has been a “rapid increase” of plastic particles in the oceans since 2005 (2). A new research stated that rapidly melting ice in the Antarctic “is dramatically slowing down the flow of water through the world’s oceans and could have a disastrous effect on global climate, the marine food chain, and even the stability of ice shelves” (3).

Read the full stories:

1) “High seas treaty: historic deal to protect international waters finally reached at UN” The Guardian 5.3.2023

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/05/high-seas-treaty-agreement-to-protect-international-waters-finally-reached-at-un

2) “Study shows ‘a growing plastic smog’ in the ocean of 171 trillion particles” The Hill 9.3.2023

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/3892125-study-shows-a-growing-plastic-smog-in-the-ocean-of-171-trillion-particles/

3) “Rapidly melting Antarctic ice could affect oceans ‘for centuries’” Al Jazeera 30.3.2023

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/30/rapidly-melting-antarctic-ice-could-affect-oceans-for-centuries