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Nanoscale Infrared Spectroscopy Reveals Nanoplastics at 5000 m Depth in the South Atlantic Ocean

2021 6 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 30 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Iris C. ten Have, Iris C. ten Have, Iris C. ten Have, Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Bert M. Weckhuysen, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Florian Meirer, Florian Meirer, Erik Zettler, Erik van Sebille Erik Zettler, Erik Zettler, Erik Zettler, Erik Zettler, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Iris C. ten Have, Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Florian Meirer, Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Florian Meirer, Ramon Oord, Erik Zettler, Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik Zettler, Erik Zettler, Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik Zettler, Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Ramon Oord, Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Florian Meirer, Ramon Oord, Erik Zettler, Bert M. Weckhuysen, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Erik Zettler, Erik Zettler, Erik Zettler, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Ramon Oord, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik Zettler, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Bert M. Weckhuysen, Bert M. Weckhuysen, Bert M. Weckhuysen, Erik van Sebille Bert M. Weckhuysen, Florian Meirer, Erik van Sebille Erik Zettler, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Erik Zettler, Erik Zettler, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Bert M. Weckhuysen, Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Florian Meirer, Florian Meirer, Florian Meirer, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Florian Meirer, Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Florian Meirer, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Erik van Sebille Florian Meirer, Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Florian Meirer, Florian Meirer, Bert M. Weckhuysen, Bert M. Weckhuysen, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Erik van Sebille Florian Meirer, Bert M. Weckhuysen, Florian Meirer, Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille Linda Amaral‐Zettler, Erik van Sebille Erik van Sebille

Summary

Researchers used nanoscale infrared spectroscopy combined with atomic force microscopy to identify individual nanoplastic particles in deep-sea water samples from 5,000 meters depth in the South Atlantic Ocean. This is the first demonstration that nanoplastics have reached the deep ocean floor, showing that plastic pollution has penetrated even the most remote marine environments.

Polymers

PE PET

Study Type Environmental

<title>Abstract</title> Millimeter- and micrometer-sized plastics are well-documented in aquatic ecosystems, but little is known about sub-micrometer particles because conventional analytical techniques lack sufficient spatial resolution or the spectroscopic means to unambiguously identify individual nanometer-sized plastic particles. We combined the spatial resolution of atomic force microscopy with chemical information from infrared spectroscopy to detect, identify, and count nanoplastics down to 20 nm in diameter in samples from different depths in the South Atlantic Ocean. We present evidence for the presence of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nanoplastics in different states of degradation at 5000 m. Using lab-based ageing of PET, we demonstrate that nanoplastics can form even without light or interaction with the plastisphere, and that macroscopic PET items are a plausible source of PET nanoplastics in the ocean.

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