Aerial survey reveals tsunami debris widespread across Alaska coast

[Blue_In_AK]

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/aerial-survey-reveals-marine-tsunami-debris-widespread-across-alaska-coast

An aerial survey of Alaska’s shorelines conducted in the summer of 2012 had the goal of examining the impact of debris on the state’s coastlines after the March 2011 tsunami that struck Japan and swept an estimated 5 million tons of debris out to sea. The results of that survey indicated that marine debris is crowding Alaska’s shores, though just how much of that is directly attributable to the tsunami remains unclear.

During a panel discussion Tuesday at the Alaska Forum on the Environment, taking place in Anchorage this week, experts with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weighed in on the impacts of tsunami debris so far in Alaska, and what might be yet to come.

According to Peter Murphy, Alaska program coordinator with NOAA’s Marine Debris program, about 70 percent of that initial 5 million tons of debris sank not long after being washed out to sea. That leaves an estimated 1.5 million tons of debris drifting across the Pacific Ocean, to eventually sink or find its way to shore in places like Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alaska -- all places where there have already been confirmed sightings of tsunami debris.

Despite most models of Pacific Ocean currents predicting a later arrival for the tsunami debris, the first of it began showing up in the winter of 2011-2012. To measure its impact, officials turned to Tim Veenstra and his Wasilla-based company Airborne Technologies to evaluate the extent of debris washing onto Alaska's shores.

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