A major new survey of the seafloor has found that even in the deepest ocean depths you can find bottles, plastic bags, fishing nets and other types of human litter.
The litter was found throughout the Mediterranean, and all the way from the continental shelf of Europe to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge 2,000 kilometres from land. Litter is a problem in the marine environment as it can be mistaken for food and eaten by some animals or can entangle coral and fish – a process known as “ghost fishing”.
The international study involving 15 organisations across Europe was led by the University of the Azores, and is a collaboration between the Mapping the Deep Project led by Plymouth University and the European Union-funded HERMIONE Project, coordinated by the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton. Other UK project partners that contributed to the study are the University of Southampton and the British Geological Survey.
Scientists took nearly 600 samples from across the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans and in the Mediterranean Sea, from depths ranging from 35 metres to 4.5 kilometres.
Mr Christopher Pham, from the University of the Azores, said: “We found that plastic was the most common litter item found on the seafloor, while trash associated with fishing activities (discarded fishing lines and nets) was particularly common on seamounts, banks, mounds and ocean ridges. The most dense accumulations of litter were found in deep underwater canyons.”
Dr Kerry Howell, Associate Professor at Plymouth University’s Marine Institute, said: “This survey has shown that human litter is present in all marine habitats, from beaches to the most remote and deepest parts of the oceans. Most of the deep sea remains unexplored by humans and these are our first visits to many of these sites, but we were shocked to find that our rubbish has got there before us.”
Litter was located at each site surveyed, with plastic accounting for 41% and derelict fishing gear 34%. Glass and metal, wood, paper/cardboard, clothing, pottery, and unidentified materials were also observed.
Dr Eva Ramirez-Llodra, Marine Biologist from the HERMIONE project, said: “An interesting discovery was relating to deposits of clinker on the sea floor – this is the residue of burnt coal that had been dumped by steam ships from the late 18th century onwards. We have known that clinker occurs on the deep-sea bed for some time, but what we found was the accumulation of clinker is closely related with modern shipping routes, indicating that the main shipping corridors have not been altered in the last two centuries.”
The report outlines the path that plastics in particular can take, originating from coastal and land sources and being carried along continental shelves and slopes into deep water.
Dr Veerle Huvenne, Seafloor and Habitat Mapping Team Leader at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, explains: “Submarine canyons form the main connection between shallow coastal waters and the deep sea. Canyons that are located close to major coastal towns and cities, such as the Lisbon Canyon offshore Portugal, or the Blanes Canyon offshore Barcelona, can funnel litter straight to water depths of 4,500m or more.”
Dr Howell added: “The large quantity of litter reaching the deep ocean floor is a major issue worldwide. Our results highlight the extent of the problem and the need for action to prevent increasing accumulation of litter in marine environments.”
The Latest on: Marine litter
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Marine litter” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Marine litter
- Koica, USAID raise alarm vs marine-litter crisison May 8, 2024 at 9:05 am
DEVELOPMENT aid agencies from South Korea and the United States have urged the dire need to address marine-plastic pollution—a pressing environmental debacle of late. The call was made ahead of the ...
- Teens charged with felonies for dumping barrels full of trash into ocean after viral videoon May 6, 2024 at 11:44 am
State officials said two juveniles turned themselves in after a video showed them dumping two barrels of trash into Lake Boca during Boca Bash ...
- 'Everywhere we looked, we found evidence': Microplastics expert on 20 years of pollution researchon May 6, 2024 at 9:14 am
Thirty years ago, while counting barnacles, limpets and seaweeds along rocky shores, I started noticing a daily tide of litter, mostly plastic. As a marine biology Ph.D. student at Liverpool ...
- Students repurpose litter to create work of arton April 29, 2024 at 2:59 am
Students at the Peconic Community School, working with Cindy Pease Roe of UpSculpt in Greenport, created a sculpture made of marine litter.
- You Can Make a Difference: Volunteers Clean Up Nearly 10 Tons of Marine Litteron April 27, 2024 at 3:29 am
More than 1,220 volunteers have cleaned up nearly 9.9 tons of marine litter from beaches in East Africa's Seychelles islands, in what researchers called an impressive ...
- This material was found as litter most often on San Diego’s beacheson April 22, 2024 at 1:32 pm
These numbers pushed both plastic fragments and EPS above cigarette butts — the long-running top littered item found at San Diego’s beaches — for the first time. In 2023, cigarettes accounted for ...
- Wet wipes containing plastic to be banned across UK to reduce marine litteron April 22, 2024 at 6:32 am
The supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic will be banned across the UK following overwhelming support during public consultation, with 95% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing with t ...
- Seychelles beach cleans demonstrate potential for citizen science to tackle marine litteron April 17, 2024 at 10:54 am
More information: Alvania Lawen et al, Beached plastic and other anthropogenic debris in the inner Seychelles islands: Results of a citizen science approach, Marine Pollution Bulletin (2024). DOI ...
- Seychelles beach cleans demonstrate potential for citizen science to tackle marine litteron April 16, 2024 at 5:01 pm
Volunteer clean-ups have resulted in almost nine metric tons of marine litter being cleared from beaches across the Seychelles, in what researchers have described as a powerful demonstration of ...
- About the authoron April 18, 2022 at 6:03 am
Recent key reports by GESAMP on microplastics in the oceans have contributed to the widening knowledge of the sources and fate of marine litter, specifically microplastics, in the oceans.
via Bing News