study
Deep-sea bottom loaded with plastic more than previously thought
Creatures such as deep-sea shrimp keep the sediment at the bottom of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench moving – and also distribute microplastic particles there. photo
© Nils Brenke/Senckenberg/dpa
Millions of tons of plastic waste end up in the oceans every year, most of which accumulates in the form of tiny particles in the sediments. Even the bottom of the deep sea is not spared.
The seabed of the deep sea is even more heavily contaminated with microplastics than previously thought. This is the conclusion reached by scientists from the Senckenberg Nature Research Society, the Goethe University in Frankfurt and the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in Bremerhaven.