Plastic rocks found on remote island alarm scientists

This is the Brazilian island of Chandaji. Its geology has fascinated scientists for years, but the latest discovery on this remote turtle refuge has terrified them. These rocks are made from plastic debris. Melted plastic has become intertwined with rocks on the island, located more than 700 miles away from the mainland. And scientists say it's proof of mankind's growing influence over Earth's geological cycles. Chandaji Island is one of the world's most important conservation spots for green turtles, with thousands arriving each year to lay their eggs. The island's only human inhabitants are members of the Brazilian navy, which maintains a base in the island and protects the nesting turtles.

But its remoteness did not stop human activity from interfering. Researchers at the Federal University of Piranha couldn't classify the rocks, so they ran chemical tests, which found that the plastics in the rocks are called plastic glomerites, made from a mixture of sedimentary granules and other debris held together by plastic. This is a beach rock, and through temperature-to-heat processes, to discard this material, this plastic is melted and begins to be incorporated with the natural material of the beach. Santos says the discovery stirs questions about humans' legacy on Earth. We did chemical tests to identify what type of plastic was plastic, and we also discussed these samples as if they were natural rocks, with the same methods. We observed them in a macro, micro and described them as rocks. This is also one of the news that our work brought.

It is marine pollution on the geology lens. This is really very new and at the same time scary, because pollution arrived in the geology expertise, and this type of plastic can be preserved in the Earth's record, in the geological record.

reuters, news, top news, headlines, breaking news, news today, thomson reuters, reuters youtube, markets today, bloomberg, science, environment