‘Plasticorals,’ pieces of coral rubble fused with plastic, are lasting signs of human activity and may pose a threat to marine ecosystems. While widely manufactured materials like cement and steel degrade over millennia, plastic remains intact long enough that future geologists will likely identify the period from the 1950s onward as a distinct synthetic layer in the Earth’s crust. This era is popularly called the Plasticene, and researchers are now documenting how synthetic debris physically merges with natural environments. On the beaches of Okinawa, Japan, melted household plastic has seeped into the tiny pores of dead coral, forming debris that researchers call “plasticorals.” The plastic and coral have become inseparable, creating a form of pollution that could wash back into the sea in rubble that normally supports reef life. Melted plastic inside coral skeletons Small, brightly colored specks among the pale coral rubble first drew researchers’ attention during routine beach litter surveys on the subtropical island. A team from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) and the University of the Ryukyus brought samples back to the lab for microscopic examinations and spectroscopy, which helps identify substances through their interaction with light. Together, these analyses revealed that the specks...

The Bristol-based institution have released the third feature film in the Shaun the Sheep franchise.