Where Will Debris from Japan's Tsunami Go? See Where Ocean Flows Are Carrying It

This figure shows the probable pathways of the debris that entered the ocean on March 11, 2011, as estimated from historical trajectories of drifting buoys. View an animation. Credit: Nikolai Maximenko, International Pacific Research Center

The tsunami that hit Japan devastated buildings and farms, and carried entire houses down streets. But as waters retreated, tons of debris was washed into the sea. Where will all that garbage flow now that it has hit the open water? Researchers have created a guess at where and when we'll see refuse from the tsunami, including which shorelines will soon see debris from Japan's disaster washing up on beaches.

University of Hawaii at Manoa's Nikolai Maximenko and Jan Hafner have created a model for where debris will flow. It has been based on the movement of buoys deployed over the years for scientific research, and by watching how currents move the buoys, they are showing how objects from the tsunami will travel across the Pacific.

The team estimates that the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument will start to see trash within a year, and more trash will hit Hawaiian islands shores over the following year. 

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