Modellers track tsunami debris

Almost a year after the Japanese Tohoku earthquake and megatsunami, the Pacific Ocean is still dealing with the consequences of the catastrophe.

A mass of debris was washed out to sea as floodwaters receded from the land, and some of that wreckage continues to float around the ocean.

Most of it headed eastwards, according to modelling work by the Hawaii-based International Pacific Research Center.

However, IPRC scientific computer programmer Jan Hafner says it is uncertain how much material is out there.