Microplastics Found On Sea Floor

 

Recently scientists found a higher level or volume of plastics particularly microplastics on the sea floor to be ever recorded according to the news. These plastics according to the news were carried by water currents beneath the sea or ocean which are scattered and distributed on connecting water bodies.

 

 “Scientists have identified the highest levels of microplastics ever recorded on the seafloor…. These items likely included fibres from clothing and other synthetic textiles, and tiny fragments from larger objects that had broken down over time. The researchers' investigations lead them to believe that microplastics (smaller than 1mm) are being concentrated in specific locations on the ocean floor by powerful bottom currents.”(BBC)

 

“It's been calculated that something in the order of four to 12 million tonnes of plastic waste enter the oceans every year, mostly through rivers.Media headlines have focused on the great aggregations of debris that float in gyres or wash up with the tides on coastlines.” (BBC)

 

“Some of it has almost certainly been consumed by sea creatures, but perhaps the much larger proportion has fragmented and simply sunk….. Dr Kane's team has already shown that deep-sea trenches and ocean canyons can have high concentrations of microplastics in their sediments.” (BBC)