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Tier 2
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Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence.
Environmental Sources
Marine & Wildlife
Policy & Risk
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The deep sea is a major sink for microplastic debris
Royal Society Open Science2014
1868 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 50
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Miquel Canals,
Rachel Coppock,
Rachel Coppock,
Rachel Coppock,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Rachel Coppock,
Richard C. Thompson,
Rachel Coppock,
Rachel Coppock,
Rachel Coppock,
Lucy C. Woodall
Lucy C. Woodall
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Lucy C. Woodall
Lucy C. Woodall
Richard C. Thompson,
Lucy C. Woodall
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Richard C. Thompson,
Victoria A. Sleight,
Victoria A. Sleight,
Victoria A. Sleight,
Miquel Canals,
Miquel Canals,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Rachel Coppock,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Richard C. Thompson,
Rachel Coppock,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Rachel Coppock,
Richard C. Thompson,
Miquel Canals,
Richard C. Thompson,
Rachel Coppock,
Lucy C. Woodall
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Rachel Coppock,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Rachel Coppock,
Alex D. Rogers,
Antoni Calafat,
Antoni Calafat,
Lucy C. Woodall
Richard C. Thompson,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Rachel Coppock,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Rachel Coppock,
Rachel Coppock,
Richard C. Thompson,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Rachel Coppock,
Miquel Canals,
Richard C. Thompson,
Miquel Canals,
Miquel Canals,
Miquel Canals,
Rachel Coppock,
Rachel Coppock,
Rachel Coppock,
Richard C. Thompson,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Richard C. Thompson,
Miquel Canals,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Richard C. Thompson,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Miquel Canals,
Richard C. Thompson,
Miquel Canals,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Miquel Canals,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Lucy C. Woodall
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Richard C. Thompson,
Gordon Paterson,
Miquel Canals,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Miquel Canals,
Rachel Coppock,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Rachel Coppock,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Miquel Canals,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Gordon Paterson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Miquel Canals,
Miquel Canals,
Victoria A. Sleight,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Richard C. Thompson,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Gordon Paterson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Antoni Calafat,
Miquel Canals,
Richard C. Thompson,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Miquel Canals,
Lucy C. Woodall
Lucy C. Woodall
Richard C. Thompson,
Antoni Calafat,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Richard C. Thompson,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Gordon Paterson,
Miquel Canals,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Victoria A. Sleight,
Richard C. Thompson,
Alex D. Rogers,
Miquel Canals,
Miquel Canals,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Lucy C. Woodall
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Miquel Canals,
Antoni Calafat,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Rachel Coppock,
Richard C. Thompson,
Alex D. Rogers,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Lucy C. Woodall
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Alex D. Rogers,
Richard C. Thompson,
Lucy C. Woodall
Lucy C. Woodall
Lucy C. Woodall
Richard C. Thompson,
Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy,
Alex D. Rogers,
Rachel Coppock,
Richard C. Thompson,
Richard C. Thompson,
Lucy C. Woodall
Summary
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.
Study Type
Environmental
Marine debris, mostly consisting of plastic, is a global problem, negatively impacting wildlife, tourism and shipping. However, despite the durability of plastic, and the exponential increase in its production, monitoring data show limited evidence of concomitant increasing concentrations in marine habitats. There appears to be a considerable proportion of the manufactured plastic that is unaccounted for in surveys tracking the fate of environmental plastics. Even the discovery of widespread accumulation of microscopic fragments (microplastics) in oceanic gyres and shallow water sediments is unable to explain the missing fraction. Here, we show that deep-sea sediments are a likely sink for microplastics. Microplastic, in the form of fibres, was up to four orders of magnitude more abundant (per unit volume) in deep-sea sediments from the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean than in contaminated sea-surface waters. Our results show evidence for a large and hitherto unknown repository of microplastics. The dominance of microfibres points to a previously underreported and unsampled plastic fraction. Given the vastness of the deep sea and the prevalence of microplastics at all sites we investigated, the deep-sea floor appears to provide an answer to the question-where is all the plastic?