Microplastics on the bottom of the oceans: the study

Each year up to 14 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans. So far there has often been talked about what happens on the surface of the oceanswhere waste materials are collected that not only pollute the sea but they also jeopardize the life of many marine animalsoften killing them. That of microplastics, however, is an even wider problem that also concerns what happens under the surface of the sea, as explained by A study published on Nature: Plastic, therefore, reached the bottom of the oceans. According to the study, most of the previous research had focused on first 50 centimeters of the marine surface. The new research has instead combined data collected at different ocean depths, from 1,885 stations between 2014 and 2024. Researchers confirmed their thesis: Microplastics are present in large quantities even below the surface. “Despite the observational uncertainties, the substantial presence of sub-superficial microplastics both in coastal and hilling waters underlines how the ocean water column is a critical tank But still little characterized by plastic ”reads in the study.

How much plastic is on the bottom of the oceans

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The study noticed more than 1100 microplastical particles per cubic meter between 100 and 270 meters deep in a sample of the Atlantic Ocean. In the subtropical vortex of the Pacific of the North, 2000 meters deep, they were found instead 16600 particles per cubic meter. In the Arctic Ocean at 2500 meters deep they were found 25200 particles per cubic meterwhile in the fossa delle Marianne the study found 13500 particles per cubic meter at 6800 meters deep. The relatively large microplastics are more frequently found on the surface or quickly sink to the seabed. The smaller ones sink more slowly and therefore distribute more uniformly in the various depths. The largest particles are also more influenced by the ocean stratification (characterized by strong variations in water density), which slows down sinking e causes the accumulation of plastic. The danger that these plastic accumulations can alter the marine ecosystems is obviously very high. There “Navy snow” – organic and inorganic particles that sink from the surface to the abysses – sinks more slowly when it includes plastic. This hinders and slows down the ocean in the capture of carbona process that allows you to Reduce carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) in the atmospherekidnapping it and storing it in the sea.