Post by Andrei Tchentchik on May 8, 2020 12:44:49 GMT 2
(.#A.094).- A record amount of microplastics at the bottom of the ocean 03/05/2020.
A record amount of microplastics recorded at the bottom of the ocean.
By: Brice Louvet, science editor
May 3, 2020.
Crédits : iStock
A team of researchers announces that they have identified the highest concentration of microplastics recorded under the ocean bed.
While we often hear about these large plastic plates lining the surface of the ocean in various places, the fact is that these materials represent less than 1% of our waste. The big question is: where are the remaining 99%? A recent study told us a few weeks ago that a large part of them (almost 90%) are stranded in the littoral zone, less than 8 km from the coast. But then again, if these numbers are to be believed, there is a waste of waste.
If some could be ingested by marine animals or degraded by microorganisms, exploration campaigns have in the past already suggested that the seabed could also accumulate plastic waste, at the sandstone of currents acting like “conveyor belts ”. A recent study published in the journal Science confirms this.
1.9 million pieces of plastic
As part of this work, researchers from the British Universities of Manchester and Durham, collected a square meter of sediment from the bed of the Tyrrhenian Sea in the Mediterranean, near the west coast of Italy. Back in the laboratory, they then separated the tiny plastic particles from the sediment.
The researchers say they ultimately totaled more than 1.9 million pieces of plastic. It’s the highest concentration of microplastics ever recorded on the seabed. Infrared spectroscopy analysis also found that most were fibers derived from textiles and clothing, which are known to “slip” through filters in wastewater treatment plants.
"It's unfortunate, but plastic has become a new type of sediment particle, now distributed across the seabed with sand, mud and nutrients," said Florian Pohl, who co-signed the research.
Microplastics pour into the ocean through rivers carrying wastewater. Avalanches of sediment (turbidity currents) push them back towards the seabed. Other microplastics released from the ocean surface can also be captured and transported by bottom currents. Credits: Dr Ian Kane
The researchers agree that this study is only focusing on a specific area of the Mediterranean, where the currents create circular gyres (or vortexes) capable of explaining why microplastics are so concentrated there.
In other less "confined" places, such as the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, currents on the seabed could disperse the waste more than accumulate it on "hot spots". Additional research will therefore be necessary to truly understand the behavior of plastic in other parts of the world.
F I N .
A record amount of microplastics recorded at the bottom of the ocean.
By: Brice Louvet, science editor
May 3, 2020.
Crédits : iStock
A team of researchers announces that they have identified the highest concentration of microplastics recorded under the ocean bed.
While we often hear about these large plastic plates lining the surface of the ocean in various places, the fact is that these materials represent less than 1% of our waste. The big question is: where are the remaining 99%? A recent study told us a few weeks ago that a large part of them (almost 90%) are stranded in the littoral zone, less than 8 km from the coast. But then again, if these numbers are to be believed, there is a waste of waste.
If some could be ingested by marine animals or degraded by microorganisms, exploration campaigns have in the past already suggested that the seabed could also accumulate plastic waste, at the sandstone of currents acting like “conveyor belts ”. A recent study published in the journal Science confirms this.
1.9 million pieces of plastic
As part of this work, researchers from the British Universities of Manchester and Durham, collected a square meter of sediment from the bed of the Tyrrhenian Sea in the Mediterranean, near the west coast of Italy. Back in the laboratory, they then separated the tiny plastic particles from the sediment.
The researchers say they ultimately totaled more than 1.9 million pieces of plastic. It’s the highest concentration of microplastics ever recorded on the seabed. Infrared spectroscopy analysis also found that most were fibers derived from textiles and clothing, which are known to “slip” through filters in wastewater treatment plants.
"It's unfortunate, but plastic has become a new type of sediment particle, now distributed across the seabed with sand, mud and nutrients," said Florian Pohl, who co-signed the research.
Microplastics pour into the ocean through rivers carrying wastewater. Avalanches of sediment (turbidity currents) push them back towards the seabed. Other microplastics released from the ocean surface can also be captured and transported by bottom currents. Credits: Dr Ian Kane
The researchers agree that this study is only focusing on a specific area of the Mediterranean, where the currents create circular gyres (or vortexes) capable of explaining why microplastics are so concentrated there.
In other less "confined" places, such as the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, currents on the seabed could disperse the waste more than accumulate it on "hot spots". Additional research will therefore be necessary to truly understand the behavior of plastic in other parts of the world.
F I N .
