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The Arctic Deep Sea - A Sink for Microplastic ?
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This study investigated Arctic deep-sea sediments as a potential sink for the "missing" ocean plastic — the vast amounts of plastic entering oceans that are not accounted for by surface measurements. Findings from sediment cores show microplastic accumulation in the deep Arctic seafloor, supporting the hypothesis that deep-sea sediments are a major repository for ocean plastic pollution.
Some 99 % of plastic debris projected to enter our oceans has not been captured by current global litter estimates based on empirical data. It has been speculated that a large fraction of plastic debris evades our detection through fragmentation into small particle sizes, uptake by biota and accumulation in remote environments such as the deep ocean floor, which covers 60 % of the Earth. Here, we analysed nine sediment samples taken at the HAUSGARTEN observatory in the Arctic at 2,340 – 5,570 m depths by Attenuated Total Reflection FTIR and µFTIR spectroscopy. Our results indicate the widespread occurrence of high numbers of microplastics (MP) in Arctic deep-sea sediments (44 – 3,463 MP L-1). The northernmost two stations harboured the highest MP quantities, indicating the importance of sea ice. A positive correlation between MP and chlorophyll a suggests vertical export via incorporation in sinking (ice-) algal aggregates. Overall, 18 different polymer types were detected dominated by chlorinated polyethylene (38 %), polyamide (22 %) and polypropylene (16 %). Almost 80 % of the MPs were ≤ 25µm. Many previous studies did not capture this size, which may partly explain why the MP concentrations are amongst the highest recorded from benthic sediments so far. MP quantities on the seafloor are 2 - 3 magnitudes higher than at the sea surface (Tekman et al.) indicating that the deep Arctic seafloor is a major sink for MP. This highlights the need to incorporate data from the deep sea into global litter estimates if we want to tackle the question ‘Where is all the plastic?’
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Tying up Loose Ends of Microplastic Pollution in the Arctic: Distribution from the Sea Surface through the Water Column to Deep-Sea Sediments at the HAUSGARTEN Observatory
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Scientists sampled the water column at multiple depths and deep-sea sediments at the HAUSGARTEN Arctic observatory, finding microplastics at all depths from surface to seafloor, with concentrations indicating that the Arctic deep sea is a significant long-term sink for microplastic pollution.
Arctic Ocean sediments as important current and future sinks for marine microplastics missing in the global microplastic budget
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Researchers mapped microplastic distribution across multiple environments in the western Arctic Ocean and found that Arctic sediments serve as a major, previously unrecognized sink for the world's missing microplastics. Sediment core analysis revealed that microplastic deposition has been increasing by about 3 percent per year, with sea ice acting as a temporary reservoir that releases trapped particles as it melts. The study helps explain why surface ocean plastic loads are lower than expected and warns that Arctic microplastic accumulation will likely accelerate as climate change reduces ice cover.
The deep sea is a major sink for microplastic debris
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Researchers analyzed deep-sea sediments from the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Indian Ocean and found microplastic fibers up to 4 orders of magnitude more concentrated than at the contaminated sea surface, identifying the deep seafloor as a vast and previously unknown repository of the world's 'missing' plastic.
High Quantities of Microplastic in Arctic Deep-Sea Sediments from the HAUSGARTEN Observatory
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Researchers found high quantities of microplastics in deep-sea sediments from the Arctic HAUSGARTEN observatory, demonstrating that even remote deep Arctic seafloor environments have accumulated significant microplastic pollution.
Deep Sea Sediments of the Arctic Central Basin: A Potential Sink for Microplastics
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Scientists found that tiny plastic bits (microplastics) are settling into the mud at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean, far from where most plastic pollution starts. This matters because it shows plastic waste is spreading even to the most remote parts of our planet, and once it settles into deep-sea sediment, it can stick around for a very long time, potentially working its way into ocean food chains that eventually reach our dinner plates.
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