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Faculty Opinions recommendation of High concentrations of plastic hidden beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean
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This is a faculty review recommendation highlighting a study demonstrating that the ocean interior contains far more plastic than surface surveys suggest. The study found that subsurface plastic concentrations can balance or exceed historical estimates of total plastic inputs to the ocean.
Concern over plastic pollution of the marine environment is severe. The mass-imbalance between the plastic litter supplied to and observed in the ocean currently suggests a missing sink. However, here we show that the ocean interior conceals high loads of small-sized plastic debris which can balance and even exceed the estimated plastic inputs into the ocean since 1950. The combined mass of just the three most-littered plastics (polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene) of 32-651 µm size-class suspended in the top 200 m of the Atlantic Ocean is 11.6-21.1 Million Tonnes. Considering that plastics of other sizes and polymer types will be found in the deeper ocean and in the sediments, our results indicate that both inputs and stocks of ocean plastics are much higher than determined previously. It is thus critical to assess these terms across all size categories and polymer groups to determine the fate and danger of plastic contamination. PMID: 32811835
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High concentrations of plastic hidden beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean
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Researchers measured plastic debris suspended in the top 200 meters of the Atlantic Ocean and found 11.6 to 21.1 million tonnes of just three common plastic types — far more than surface surveys had suggested, indicating the ocean interior hides a massive hidden plastic sink that has been largely overlooked.
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Researchers mapped the vertical distribution of plastic debris in the upper 300 meters of the North Atlantic Ocean, finding that plastic concentrations drop rapidly below the surface and that subsurface plastics overlap spatially with key planktonic organisms.
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This study explored trends and characteristics of plastic debris in the North Atlantic Ocean, reviewing decades of research on where plastics accumulate, how they age, and what environmental consequences follow. The paper highlights misconceptions about ocean plastic pollution and emphasizes the diversity of plastic types and fates beyond the well-known garbage patches.
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Researchers studied microplastic distribution in the Central Atlantic and found that surface and subsurface samples differ not only in particle size but also in morphology, polymer types, abundance, and spatial distribution, driven by distinct hydrodynamic processes at the sea surface versus a few meters below.
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Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.