A team of researchers, artists and environmental leaders have arrived on the Island to research marine pollution.

The SEA Change Expedition, organised by the 5 Gyres Institute, is investigating plastic waste in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre, where high concentrations of trash have been found.

The group published a study last December that estimated there was as much as 270,000 metric tonnes of plastic waste from 2.5 trillion fragments of plastic.

About 60 people involved in the programme arrived in St George’s at the weekend on board the 167ft tall ship Mystic, and are expected to remain here until Thursday, when they will set sail for New York.

Among those on board was popular musician Jack Johnson, who joined the crew on the voyage from the Bahamas and was set to depart the Island yesterday.

Dr Marcus Erikson, a co-founder of 5 Gyres and the director of research, said: “This new research revelation is driving solutions inland, to the top of the watershed where the problem starts, but we need to return to sea, to educate crews, understand more and monitor our successes on land.”

The group will host a free discussion today, entitled “Marine Plastic Pollution Solutions: Globally and Locally”, at the Bermuda Institute for Ocean Science between 7pm and 9pm in Hanson Hall.

Tomorrow, the group will join forces with BHS students to do a beach cleanup. The students will also be working with KBB, Greenrock and BIOS on projects as part of the school’s Ocean Health initiative.

Ann Hyde, of the Bermuda Marine Debris Taskforce, said the group was pleased to have the 5 Gyres team back on the Island to study the density and type of plastic waste in Bermuda’s waters.

“Bermuda’s geographical location is ideal for marine research because you can reach very deep water just a few miles offshore, and because of its position in the Sargasso Sea and North Atlantic Gyre,” she said.

“A gyre is a series of ocean currents that circle clockwise, and in our case these currents carry debris from the United States to the Azores to Africa to South America, then up into the most well-known current, the Gulf Stream, and past Bermuda.

“We get high concentrations of plastic debris washing ashore on Bermuda’s beaches.

“Sunlight and wave action degrade the plastic into small pieces over time and much of what arrives on the beaches in Bermuda has been at sea for a long time and travelled from thousands of miles away.

“We are also seeing evidence of bite marks on the plastic from turtles and fish mistaking it for food.”