Debris from Japan earthquake making its way to U.S.

      Debris from Japan earthquake making its way to U.S.

      HONOLULU (AP) - Tsunamis generated by the magnitude-9 earthquake in Japan last March dragged 3 million to 4 million tons of debris into the ocean after tearing up Japanese harbors and homes.





      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.

      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. The conservancy is hosting the news conference.



      It's unclear whether items like refrigerators will make it across because there's little precedent for such things in the ocean.

      Computer models created by the University of Hawaii indicate the debris is spread far apart across thousands of miles from the eastern coast of Japan to an area some 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) north of the Hawaiian Islands.

      "The debris field is largely dispersed over a large area. And because of that dispersion, we can no longer rely on satellite imagery to track the debris," Mallos said.