<p style=”margin-bottom: 8px; text-align: center;”><span style=”font-size:14px;”><span style=”line-height:107%”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><span style=”color:#595959″><b><span style=”color:black”>SOURCE – THE HINDU</span></b></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style=”margin-bottom: 8px; text-align: center;”><span style=”font-size:14px;”><span style=”line-height:107%”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><span style=”color:#595959″><b><span style=”color:black”>GS PAPER – 1& 3</span></b></span></span></span></span></p>
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<p style=”margin-bottom:8px”><span style=”font-size:14px;”><span style=”line-height:107%”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><span style=”color:#595959″><b><span style=”color:black”>CONTEXT – </span></b><b><span style=”background:white”><span style=”line-height:107%”><span style=”font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"”><span style=”color:black”>Researchers at the agency, known as CSIRO, used a robotic submarine to collect samples from sites up to 3,000 metres deep, off the South Australian coast</span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style=”margin-bottom:8px”><span style=”font-size:14px;”><span style=”line-height:107%”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><span style=”color:#595959″><b><span style=”background:white”><span style=”line-height:107%”><span style=”font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"”><span style=”color:black”>Highlights</span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></p>
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<li style=”margin-left:8px”><span style=”font-size:14px;”><span style=”background:white”><span style=”line-height:19.5pt”><span style=”font-family:"Times New Roman",serif”><span lang=”EN-GB”><span style=”color:#282828″>The world's sea floor is littered with an estimated 14 million tonnes of microplastics, broken down from the masses of rubbish entering the oceans every year, according to Australia's national science agency.</span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li style=”margin-left:8px”><span style=”font-size:14px;”><span style=”background:white”><span style=”line-height:19.5pt”><span style=”font-family:"Times New Roman",serif”><span lang=”EN-GB”><span style=”color:#282828″>The quantity of the tiny pollutants was 25 times greater than previous localised studies had shown, the agency said, calling it the first global estimate of sea-floor microplastics.</span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li style=”margin-left:8px”><span style=”font-size:14px;”><span style=”background:white”><span style=”line-height:19.5pt”><span style=”font-family:"Times New Roman",serif”><span lang=”EN-GB”><span style=”color:#282828″>Researchers at the agency, known as CSIRO, used a robotic submarine to collect samples from sites up to 3,000 metres deep, off the South Australian coast</span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li style=”margin-left:8px”><span style=”font-size:14px;”><span style=”background:white”><span style=”line-height:19.5pt”><span style=”font-family:"Times New Roman",serif”><span lang=”EN-GB”><span style=”background:white”><span style=”color:#282828″>The scientists, who published their findings in peer-reviewed journal <em style=”color:#262626; font-weight:bold; font-style:normal”><span style=”color:#282828″>Frontiers in Marine Science</span></em>, said areas with more floating rubbish generally had more microplastic fragments on the sea floor</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
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<p><span style=”font-size:14px;”><span style=”background:white”><span style=”line-height:19.5pt”><span style=”font-family:"Times New Roman",serif”><b><span lang=”EN-GB”><span style=”background:white”><span style=”color:#282828″>What is Microplastic ?</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span style=”font-size:14px;”><span style=”background:white”><span style=”line-height:19.5pt”><span style=”font-family:"Times New Roman",serif”><span lang=”EN-GB”><span style=”color:#282828″>Plastic pollution that ends up in the ocean deteriorates and breaks down, ending up as microplastics,The results show microplastics are indeed sinking to the ocean floor.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span style=”font-size:14px;”><span style=”background:white”><span style=”line-height:19.5pt”><span style=”font-family:"Times New Roman",serif”><b><span lang=”EN-GB”><span style=”color:#282828″>Conclusion </span></span></b></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span style=”font-size:14px;”><span style=”background:white”><span style=”line-height:19.5pt”><span style=”font-family:"Times New Roman",serif”><span lang=”EN-GB”><span style=”color:#282828″>Government, industry and the community need to work together to significantly reduce the amount of litter we see along our beaches and in our oceans</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
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