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Microplastics Are the Not-So-Secret Ingredient in Marine Snow
Summary
Microplastics are now recognized as a component of marine snow — the particles of organic material that sink from the ocean surface to the seafloor. Plastic particles coated with biofilms act like natural organic aggregates, carrying carbon into the deep ocean and potentially altering the marine carbon cycle.
Particles of tiny, degraded plastics coated with biofilms sink to the seafloor, carrying carbon with them.
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