Many people have heard of the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” a vast area of ocean between California and Hawaii where ocean currents concentrate plastic pollution. However, it turns out there may also be a lot of plastic far below the ocean’s surface.
A newly-published study in Scientific Reports shows that plastic debris less than 5 millimeters across, known as microplastic, is common from the surface to the seafloor. It may also be entering marine food webs, both at the surface and in the deep. Finally, the study suggests that most of this microplastic is coming from consumer products.
This is the first study to look systematically at microplastic, with repeated sampling at the same locations and a range of depths, from just beneath the ocean surface to depths of 1,000 meters.
The study in California’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary also found that small ocean animals are consuming microplastic, which introduces the particles into food webs from near-surface waters down to the deep seafloor.
“Our findings buttress a growing body of scientific evidence pointing to the waters and animals of the deep sea, Earth’s largest habitat, as the biggest repository of small plastic debris,” said Anela Choy, the lead author of the paper.
Read more at Monterey Bay Aquarium
Image: Microplastic particles are not only common from the surface to the seafloor, but they're also being eaten by animals such as giant larvaceans and pelagic red crabs and incorporated into marine food webs. (Credit: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)