Some of the 20 to 25 million tons of debris swept into the ocean last March by the tsunami that devastated Japan is expected to reach the Hawaiian Islands in early 2013, and will continue to make its way to the West Coast of the United States before circling back to Hawaii.
Scientists tracking the debris estimate that 1 million to 2 million tons of it is still in the ocean, 1 to 5 percent of which is likely to wash up on coasts of Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon.
Whether any will make its way to the beaches of Monterey Bay is still too difficult to predict, a spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
The tsunami that slammed into Japan was the result of a magnitude-9 offshore earthquake on March 11, 2011, carrying away houses, fishing boats, lumber, refrigerators and bodies. Nearly 23,000 people were determined to be dead or missing.
Much of the debris is still in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, but some lighter, windblown flotsam travels faster.
Some debris appears to have already arrived in the U.S., like a half-dozen large buoys suspected to be from Japanese oyster farms found in Alaska late last year.
The first suspected Japanese tsunami debris to reach the U.S. floated into Neah Bay, Wash., in early December.
Nicholas Mallos, conservation biologist and marine debris specialist for the Ocean Conservancy, said many of the objects are expected to be from Japan’s fishing industry. Fishing gear could harm wildlife, such as endangered Hawaiian monk seals, if it washes up on coral reefs or beaches.
The tsunami caused significant damage to a nuclear power plant in Japan, releasing radiation, but radiation contamination in any floating debris is considered a minor concern.
Radiation experts at the Environmental Protection Agency have told that (radiation contamination) is so unlikely that the public shouldn’t be worried about it.
Anyone finding suspected debris on a beach or in the water is asked to report the find by emailing disasterdebris@noaa.gov or by calling local emergency service agencies.
– from mercurynews.com