Scientists track path of rubber ducks spilled from ship in 1992
Thousands of plastic toys released in the North Pacific have helped oceanographers study the movement of global ocean currents.
On January 10, 1992, 12 shipping containers fell overboard from the cargo vessel Ever Laurel during a storm in the North Pacific, according to The Times of India. One container carried plastic toys manufactured in China for the American company The First Years, including yellow ducks, blue turtles, red beavers and green frogs.
The toys were designed without holes, allowing them to float on currents until reaching land. They first washed ashore near Sitka, Alaska, approximately 2,000 miles from where they were lost while the ship travelled from Hong Kong to Tacoma, Washington.
Oceanographers Curtis Ebbesmeyer and James Ingraham used the incident to study ocean currents. Ebbesmeyer collected data from beachcombers, while Ingraham used a computer model called OSCURS to simulate surface current movements. The researchers proposed the toys travelled through the Arctic, becoming trapped in sea ice before being released into the North Atlantic.
The investigation showed toys appearing in Hawaii, the United Kingdom, Ireland, eastern Canada and the US Atlantic coast. Some toys remained trapped in major currents for years.
The spill provided data to help scientists understand how microplastics and marine debris move and how long it takes water to complete a circuit of the Pacific Ocean gyres. While many toys have since degraded into microplastics, the study remains an example of how Earth's oceans are interconnected.