Shailene Woodley joined scientists to collect microplastics in the Sargasso Sea

PC: TIME/National Geographic Far from the beaches and busy coastlines where plastic pollution is easiest to see, scientists found evidence of a much less visible problem in the Sargasso Sea. During a 2019 Greenpeace expedition, actress Shailene Woodley joined researchers collecting samples from the remote North Atlantic ecosystem, where floating Sargassum provides habitat for marine life. As reported by Greenpeace, one sample contained 1,298 microplastic fragments, highlighting how tiny pieces of plastic can accumulate even in distant ocean waters. The findings placed the Sargasso Sea within a wider debate about marine pollution, while Woodley's involvement connected the scientific expedition with a campaign for stronger protection of international waters.The Sargasso Sea became the focus of a scientific expeditionWoodley joined Greenpeace on an expedition to the Sargasso Sea in 2019, travelling with scientists who were collecting samples for microplastic research. The location mattered because the Sargasso Sea is a remote open-ocean ecosystem rather than a heavily developed coastal environment.The Sargasso Sea is an area of the North Atlantic defined by ocean currents rather than ...