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The ocean’s ultimate trashcan: Hadal trenches as major depositories for plastic pollution
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Analysis of hadal trenches - the deepest points in the ocean - found them to be major accumulation zones for microplastics and plastic debris, with concentrations higher than many surface ocean regions. This reveals that plastic pollution has reached the most remote and extreme environments on Earth, transported by deep-sea currents to ultimate depositional sinks.
Plastic debris and marine microplastics are being discharged into the ocean at an alarming scale and have been observed throughout the marine environment. Here we report microplastic in sediments of the Challenger Deep, the deepest known region on the planet, abyssal plains and hadal trenches located in the Pacific Ocean (4900 m-10,890 m). Microplastic abundance reached 71.1 items per kg dry weight sediment. That high concentrations are found at such remote depths, knowing the very slow sinking speed of microplastics, suggests that supporting mechanisms must be at-play. We discuss cascading processes that transport microplastics on their journey from land and oceanic gyres through intermediate waters to the deepest corners of the ocean. We propose that hadal trenches will be the ultimate sink for a significant proportion of the microplastics disposed in the ocean. The build-up of microplastics in hadal trenches could have large consequences for fragile deep-sea ecosystems.
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Systematic identification of microplastics in abyssal and hadal sediments of the Kuril Kamchatka trench
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Researchers systematically identified and characterised microplastics in abyssal and hadal sediment samples from the Kuril Kamchatka Trench in the North Pacific, one of the deepest ocean regions. They confirmed microplastic accumulation in this remote trench environment, consistent with the hypothesis that deep trenches serve as ultimate sinks for marine plastic debris transported by strong regional currents.
Journey to the deep: plastic pollution in the hadal of deep-sea trenches.
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Researchers conducted one of the largest surveys of macroplastic debris at hadal depths down to 9,600 meters in the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench, finding packaging and fishing-related items primarily made of polyethylene, polypropylene, and nylon transported by ocean currents.
Microplastic contamination in deep -sea sediments: the case of the Kuril Kamchatka trench.
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Researchers characterized microplastic contamination in sediments collected from the Kuril-Kamchatka deep-sea trench in the Pacific, finding plastic particles in these some of the deepest and most remote ocean environments on Earth. Deep-sea trenches appear to act as final sinks for microplastics transported by ocean currents and biological processes.
Microplastics contaminate the deepest part of the world’s ocean
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Microplastic concentrations were measured in bottom water and sediments of the Mariana Trench, finding hadal bottom water concentrations of 2.06–13.51 pieces/L—several times higher than open ocean subsurface water—and sediment concentrations of 200–2,200 pieces/L. The study provides the first evidence that the world's deepest ocean environment is heavily contaminated with microplastics, likely through sinking and current-driven accumulation.
Human footprints at hadal depths: interlayer and intralayer comparison of sediment cores from the Kuril Kamchatka trench
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Researchers analyzed sediment cores from the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench and found microplastic pollution at hadal depths exceeding 8,000 meters, with both interlayer and intralayer comparisons confirming that human-made plastic contamination has reached the deepest ocean environments.
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.