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Establishing a baseline for microplastic accumulation in deep-sea animals using an historical sample archive
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This crowdfunded research project aims to establish baseline data on microplastic accumulation in deep-sea animals using historical sample archives. Comparing old and new specimens over time could reveal how plastic pollution in the deep ocean has changed over decades.
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Monitoring the evolution of deep-sea microplastic pollution in the Indo-Pacific using natural history collection holothurian specimens
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Researchers used preserved holothurian (sea cucumber) specimens from natural history collections spanning decades to monitor the temporal evolution of deep-sea microplastic pollution in the Indo-Pacific, providing a rare historical record of how microplastic ingestion by benthic organisms has changed since plastic production began in the 1950s.
La pollution microplastique des grands fonds marins de l'Indo-Pacifique : mobilisation des collections d'holothuries du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle pour une analyse rétrospective
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Researchers investigated the use of museum collections of deep-sea holothuroids (sea cucumbers) gathered over 50 years of Indo-Pacific oceanographic surveys as proxies to retrospectively assess the temporal dynamics of benthic microplastic pollution in otherwise inaccessible deep-sea environments.
Ingested microplastics identified from macrobenthos collected during the RRS Discovery D340b Research Cruise to the Mingulay Reef Complex (Outer Hebrides, western Scotland, northeast Atlantic)
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Microplastics were identified in the gut contents of 112 benthic specimens collected during a 2009 research cruise on the RRS Discovery, using historic cruise material to establish baseline understanding of microplastic ingestion by deep-sea macrobenthos. The study demonstrates the value of archived biological samples for retrospective assessment of historical microplastic contamination levels.
Consistent microplastic ingestion by deep-sea invertebrates over the last four decades (1976–2015), a study from the North East Atlantic
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Researchers found consistent microplastic ingestion by deep-sea invertebrates in the North East Atlantic over a 40-year period from 1976 to 2015, demonstrating that microplastic contamination of remote deep-sea habitats is a long-standing and persistent problem.
A novel method enabling the accurate quantification of microplastics in the water column of deep ocean
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A new sampling method was developed to accurately measure microplastics in the deep ocean water column, addressing gaps left by traditional net trawls that miss very small particles. Reliable deep-sea sampling is critical since the deep ocean is thought to be a major sink for global microplastic pollution.
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