RAB Source Entry 1 – Nason

Source Entry for – “In the Ocean, It’s Snowing Microplastics.”

PART 1: MLA Citation

Imbler, Sabrina. “In the Ocean, It’s Snowing Microplastics.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 3 Apr. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/03/science/ocean-plastic-animals.html?searchResultPosition=5.

PART 2: SUMMARY

The passage “In the Ocean, It’s Snowing Microplastics.” by Sabrina Imbler is about how microplastics are finding their way deep underwater.  According to the writer, “tens of millions of tons” of plastic enter oceans every year. The writer mentions that microplastics have many ways to clump together to sink. Whether it be microbes that inhabit them weighing down the microplastics. Or microplastics being clumped together by sticky gel left behind by microbes.  The writer emphasizes how this affects the food chain.  The writer uses the example of different species of squid consuming plenty of microplastics found in their food such as marine snow. Marine snow is a shower of organic material falling from upper waters to the deep ocean. This portrays how microplastics contaminated the food web of marine life.  The writer concludes by quoting scientist Dr. Porter, who said, “everything eventually sinks to the bottom of the ocean.” These microplastics will remain in the ocean forever.

Part 3 Reflection

In “In the Ocean, It’s Snowing Microplastics,” Imbler argues that tons of microplastics are getting their way into the oceans and negatively affecting the environment. I agree with this idea because recently I have read that many marine ecosystems are dying, causing a chain reaction not only in America but all over the world. Plastic waste is evident in my personal experience as I’ve seen plenty of beaches with high amounts of plastic on the ground. Not only do I see trash at beaches but all over my city. It is bound that all this plastic pollution would leave a trace everywhere. Only a select number of people visited deep parts of the ocean but there are still tons of plastic down there. Reading this article made me realize how terrible pollution has got. We should change the way we handle waste for the better.

Part 4: Rhetorical Analysis

The New York Times article, “In the Ocean, It’s Snowing Microplastics,” by Sabrina Imbler, is a feature piece. The audience is the general reading public. The purpose of this article is to inform. The author’s writing style is factual. She employs research facts to back up her claim. This piece has a logical tone. Imbler successfully persuades readers by using the appeal of logos. Imbler is a credible source because she received many fellowships and scholarships, including the Asian American Writers’ Workshop and Tin House. The New York Times is a reliable source because a Reuters Institute survey in 2021 put the number of digital subscribers at around 400,000, and ranked The Times as having the sixth highest trust rating out of 13 different outlets polled.

PART 5: NOTABLE QUOTABLES

“Scientists have found 10,000 times more microplastics on the seafloor than in contaminated surface waters.” (Imbler)

“Microplastics can host so many microbial hitchhikers that they counteract the natural buoyancy of the plastic, causing their raft to sink. But if the biofilms then degrade on the way down, the plastic could float back up, potentially leading to a yo-yoing purgatory of microplastics in the water column.” (Imbler)

“Faster snowfalls could store more microplastics in the deep ocean, whereas slower snowfalls could make the plastic- laden particles more available to predators, potentially starving food webs deeper down.” (Imbler)