What Are 'Neptune Balls,' The Microplastic-Filled Clumps Washing Up On Beaches?

Neptune balls on a beachMicroplastics, which come from places like packaging and cosmetics, have been found in all five of the ocean’s subtropical gyres, Plymouth University reports.Some of these may be ingested by sea creatures, large and small. We don’t yet know for sure how these affect animals, but some researchers worry they may cause harm.Then, there are the tonnes of other plastic waste found in our seas; larger pollutants like bags and empty water bottles.But recently, scientists have noticed a surprising response from the ocean in the form of “Neptune balls.”What are “Neptune balls”?These are balls made from seagrass (Posidonia oceanica), often found around the Mediterranean.When the older parts of the plants break off, usually in autumn, the exposed roots are compressed into a ball by the sway of the waves; these balls eventually wash up on shores. They have historically been used for everything from packing to bedding and have long been referred to as “Neptune balls”.Now, though, it seems they have adapted to their environment. A new study found “up to 1470 plastic items per kg of plant material” in these Neptune balls, suggesting they’re “trapping” non-floating plastics and microplastics. That high number was especially notable given that only 17% of Neptune balls seemed to contain plastic at all. Those that did mop up pollutants, it seemed, were jam-packed.“We say it’s a way of the sea returning the trash to us that was never meant to be on the seafloor,” the study’s lead author, Anna Sanchez-Vidal, told the BBC.Does that mean the ocean is able to handle plastic pollution?No. Just as the cooler currents surrounding Arctic ice right now do not mean climate change is not happening, this adaptation is only a partial response to a much larger problem.“We’ve never seen them as a remediation, or as a way to clean the trash from the sea,” Sanchez-Vidal told the BBC.Still, any help is welcome. In her paper, she stressed the importance of maintaining seagrass meadows as much as possible given these findings.Lastly, the researcher advised anyone who spots a Neptune ball on the beach to leave it well alone – they “bring humidity and nutrients to the beach,” she said. “If we throw them away, we’re destroying this emergent beach ecosystem.” Related...Let's Settle This: Is Microwaving Plastics Ever Safe?What Does The Slowdown In Arctic Sea Ice Melting Actually Mean For Climate Change?So THAT's Why Leaves Turned Brown So Early This Year

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