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Influence of Mesoscale Eddies on the Three-Dimensional Distribution of Microplastics in the Western North Pacific

Environmental Science & Technology 2026 Score: 40 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Jingxi Li, Jingxi Li, Richard C. Thompson, Richard C. Thompson, Jingxi Li, Jinfeng Ding, Fenglei Gao, Fenglei Gao, Fenglei Gao, Fenglei Gao, Fenghua Jiang, Fenghua Jiang, Fenghua Jiang, Jingxi Li, Wei Cao, Jingxi Li, Jingxi Li, Jingxi Li, Jingxi Li, Jingxi Li, Jingxi Li, Jingxi Li, Jingxi Li, Richard C. Thompson, Jingxi Li, Jingxi Li, Richard C. Thompson, Jingxi Li, Jingxi Li, Jingxi Li, Jingxi Li, Richard C. Thompson, Jingxi Li, Fenghua Jiang, Fenghua Jiang, Fenghua Jiang, Fenglei Gao, Fenglei Gao, Fenglei Gao, Dejun Dai, Jingxi Li, Haibing Ding, Jingxi Li, Jingxi Li, Jingxi Li, Jingxi Li, Richard C. Thompson, Richard C. Thompson, Fenglei Gao, Richard C. Thompson, Richard C. Thompson, Richard C. Thompson, Fenglei Gao, Jingxi Li, Jingxi Li, Haibing Ding, Fenghua Jiang, Fenglei Gao, Fenghua Jiang, Jingxi Li, Jingxi Li, Fenglei Gao, Jingxi Li, Jingxi Li, Jingxi Li, Fenghua Jiang, Fenghua Jiang, Fenghua Jiang, Fenghua Jiang, Jingxi Li, Richard C. Thompson, Jingxi Li, Richard C. Thompson, Richard C. Thompson, Chang Zhao, Fenghua Jiang, Fenghua Jiang, Fenghua Jiang, Fenghua Jiang, Dejun Dai, Fenghua Jiang, Fenghua Jiang, Fenghua Jiang, Fenglei Gao, Jingxi Li, Richard C. Thompson, Haibing Ding, Fenghua Jiang, Fenghua Jiang, Fenghua Jiang, Jingxi Li, Haibing Ding, Richard C. Thompson, Fenglei Gao, Wei Cao, Fenghua Jiang, Richard C. Thompson, Fenghua Jiang, Fenghua Jiang, Fenghua Jiang, Jingxi Li, Fenghua Jiang, Fenghua Jiang, Richard C. Thompson, Richard C. Thompson, Fenglei Gao, Richard C. Thompson, Richard C. Thompson, Jingxi Li, Fenglei Gao, Fenghua Jiang, Quanan Zheng, Richard C. Thompson, Chengjun Sun Fenghua Jiang, Richard C. Thompson, Chengjun Sun Jingxi Li, Fenghua Jiang, Chengjun Sun

Summary

Scientists found that swirling ocean currents called eddies control where tiny plastic particles collect in the Pacific Ocean, with some areas concentrating plastics as deep as 600 meters underwater. This discovery helps us better understand how microplastics spread through the ocean and could improve predictions of where these pollutants end up in seafood and marine ecosystems. Understanding plastic distribution patterns is important because microplastics can work their way up the food chain and potentially affect human health through the fish we eat.

Despite growing concern over marine microplastic pollution, the mechanistic understanding of what governs their three-dimensional distribution in the ocean remains critically limited. Here, we characterize the three-dimensional distribution of seawater microplastics in the Western North Pacific Ocean. We find mesoscale eddies, including anticyclonic and cyclonic eddies, are directly related to the distribution and characteristics of seawater microplastics. Compared with cyclonic eddies, anticyclonic eddies tend to host higher microplastic abundance and diversity in the upper ocean, extending to at least 600 m depth. Sea level anomaly (SLA) seems to be the dominant driver of this phenomenon, as confirmed by redundancy analysis. Moreover, higher positive SLA values are associated with greater diversity in microplastic characteristics. Exceptions are observed at the surface and at 50 m depth, where complex hydrodynamic conditions occur. Overall, our study establishes a link between mesoscale eddies and the three-dimensional distribution of microplastics. This improves our understanding of the environmental behaviors of oceanic microplastics and offers scientific guidance for better assessing their environmental and ecological impacts.

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