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Around four billion minute fibres could be littering each square kilometre of some of the world’s deep seas, demonstrating that plastic debris is now creating cause for concern in some of the remotest parts of the marine environment.
That is one of the findings of a pioneering international study examining the scale of the presence of microplastics at depths of up to 3500m in parts of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, and the Mediterranean Sea.
Existing research had shown that in recent decades plastic debris has become almost omnipresent on the world’s coastlines, but the extent of its concentration close to shorelines had not increased in line with predictions based on the production and use of plastic.
However, the current study – led by scientists from Plymouth University and the Natural History Museum – indicates this may be because microplastics have sunk to the ocean floor, with the number of fibres recorded as being up to four times more abundant in the deep seas than in shallow and coastal waters.
In fact, the current study has led scientists to suggest – in areas of the Indian Ocean at least – that around 4 billion fibres per km² would be present in seamounts.
Read more: Minute Plastic Fibres Found in Abundance in the Deep Seas
The Latest on: Microplastics
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The Latest on: Microplastics
- How we are contaminating our waters with microplastics and a multitude of chemicalson June 6, 2023 at 10:19 am
A plastic sandwich wrapper bobs in the water where the Limmat River flows out of Lake Zurich. The current carries it downstream through Zurich's historic center before eventually depositing it on the ...
- Dutch researchers find microplastics in human bloodon June 5, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Although the levels were low, the mere presence of microplastics was concerning A peer-reviewed study published this week in Environment International has reported traces of microplastics had been ...
- River diversions may cause microplastics to remain longer on land and in streams before reaching oceanson June 5, 2023 at 12:46 pm
Diverting streams and rivers to irrigate crops or provide drinking water may significantly extend the time microplastics spend in river catchments before they flow into our oceans, a new study reveals ...
- Microplastics in some parts of the Med have increased by 80%on June 5, 2023 at 7:06 am
(ANSA) - ROME, JUN 5 - The quantity of microplastics grew by 80% between September 2019 and May 2022 in some stretches of the Mediterranean according to a study conducted by the Advanced Technologies ...
- Microplastics found in every sample of water taken during the Ocean Raceon June 5, 2023 at 4:37 am
Concentrations of plastics in round-the-world race through remote ocean environments found to be up to 18 times higher than during previous event in 2017-18 ...
- World Environment Day 2023: How microplastics are affecting your child's healthon June 3, 2023 at 5:11 am
Microplastics, the tiny fragments of plastics less than 5 millimetres in size, are becoming a threat to not just our environment and surroundings but also our health. Microplastics originating from ...
- The Download: AI films, and the threat of microplasticson June 2, 2023 at 5:10 am
The short answer is: we don’t really know. But scientists have begun to build a picture of their potential effects from early studies in animals and clumps of cells, and new research suggests that ...
- Microplastics are everywhere. What does that mean for our immune systems?on June 2, 2023 at 2:01 am
Tiny particles of plastic turn up in our drinking water, blood and even regions of the Earth thought to be pristine—so it’s vital we learn what they’re doing to us.
- Microplastics Are Harming the Guts of Seabirds -- and Maybe Humans, Tooon May 30, 2023 at 8:36 am
"Our discoveries mirror the conditions experienced by wildlife. Given that humans also ingest microplastics through environmental exposure and food consumption, this study should serve as a ...
- Microplastics Are Harming the Guts of Seabirds -- and Maybe Humans, Tooon May 30, 2023 at 6:01 am
Microplastics Are Harming the Guts of Seabirds -- and Maybe Humans, Too By Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, May 30, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Microplastic pollution is altering the gut ...
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