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Microplastics Are the Not-So-Secret Ingredient in Marine Snow
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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.
More Papers Like This
Role of Marine Snows in Microplastic Fate and Bioavailability
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Laboratory experiments demonstrated that marine snow — organic aggregates formed naturally in the ocean — can incorporate microplastics and transport them from surface waters toward the seafloor. The findings provide a physical mechanism explaining how buoyant microplastics sink to become a major component of seafloor sediment pollution.
An approach for extraction, characterization and quantitation of microplastic in natural marine snow using Raman microscopy
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This study demonstrated that marine snow — the organic aggregates that sink continuously through the ocean — incorporates microplastics and transports them toward the seafloor. The finding identifies biological particle aggregation as an important mechanism for removing microplastics from the upper ocean and depositing them in deep-sea sediments.
Microplastics may reduce the efficiency of the biological carbon pump by decreasing the settling velocity and carbon content of marine snow
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Researchers found that microfibers incorporated into marine snow aggregates reduced both the settling velocity and carbon content of these particles. The study suggests that microplastic contamination could impair the biological carbon pump, the ocean's key mechanism for transporting carbon from surface waters to the deep sea, with potential implications for marine carbon cycling.
Microplastics may reduce the efficiency of the biological carbon pump by decreasing the settling velocity and carbon content of marine snow
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Researchers found that microplastic fibers reduce the efficiency of the ocean's biological carbon pump by slowing the sinking of marine snow — clumps of organic material that carry carbon to the deep sea. This suggests that microplastic pollution could interfere with a key natural climate regulation mechanism by altering how carbon moves from surface waters to the ocean floor.
effects of microplastic contamination of marine snow on the deep sea food chain and carbon sequestration by phytoplankton
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This study examines the effects of microplastic contamination of marine snow on the deep-sea food chain and on carbon sequestration by phytoplankton, investigating how microplastics alter the biological pump that transports organic carbon from surface waters to the deep ocean. The findings highlight microplastics as a disruptive factor in deep-sea carbon cycling and trophic energy transfer pathways.
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