GPS transponders could be seen on local beaches

Residents should be on the lookout for bottles coming to Grays Harbor beaches.

Three months after the March 2011 Japanese tsunami, about 150 GPS transponders were put into the water by Tattori University in Japan to study debris drift patterns.

The transponders are all numbered and include instructions for how to contact the researchers if one is found. Listed on the transponder, the University writes “We are chasing a drifting route of plastic sea garbage” and that “This bottle contains a transmitter for the investigation and this is not a hazardous device.”

If you find a transponder on the beach, you’re asked to email or call the University.

We have that contact information at KXRO.com