Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Tracing the Century‐Long Evolution of Microplastics Deposition in a Cold Seep

Researchers traced a century of microplastic deposition in a deep-sea cold seep, finding that burial rates increased significantly since the 1930s in non-seepage areas, while methane seepage zones showed lower microplastic levels, suggesting potential microbial degradation of plastics.

2023 Advanced Science 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring carbon content variation in microplastics sequestrated from seawater to sediment in the Haima cold seep area

Sampling the Haima cold seep in the South China Sea, researchers found that microplastic abundance in the water column increased with methane seepage strength, while the carbon content of microplastics varied with depth and seepage activity. The study suggests that deep-sea cold seeps act as sinks for microplastics and that microbial communities in these oxygen-poor environments may process carbon from plastic particles in ways not yet well understood.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Affect Anaerobic Oxidation of Methane and Sedimentary Prokaryotic Communities in Cold Seep Areas

Laboratory experiments exposing cold seep seafloor sediments to microplastics for 120 days showed that polyamide and PET microplastics reduced methane oxidation rates to roughly a third of normal and altered the bacterial communities responsible for this process. Cold seep sediments are major global sinks for methane, so microplastic disruption of this microbial activity could have implications for greenhouse gas cycling in deep ocean environments.

2023
Article Tier 2

Effects of Different Types of Microplastics on Cold Seep Microbial Diversity and Function

Researchers simulated deep-sea cold seep conditions to study how different microplastics affect microbial communities. They found that microplastics made the plastisphere microbial networks more fragile than surrounding environments and disrupted nitrogen cycling and methane metabolism, while potentially concentrating pathogenic species.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Revealing the response of microbial communities to polyethylene micro(nano)plastics exposure in cold seep sediment

Researchers explored how polyethylene micro- and nanoplastics affect microbial communities in cold seep ocean sediments over a 120-day experiment. While the plastics did not significantly change overall microbial diversity, they did alter the community structure and affected methane-related metabolic processes. The study suggests that plastic pollution could interfere with important deep-sea biogeochemical cycles, including those involved in methane regulation.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic sink that cannot be ignored in chemosynthetic organisms

Researchers found microplastics in both mussels and squat lobsters collected from a cold seep chemosynthetic ecosystem in the South China Sea — a deep-sea environment previously unstudied for plastic pollution — with fibrous polyester particles dominating, suggesting cold-seep organisms may act as a biological sink for marine microplastics.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Methane seepage leads to a specific microplastic aging process in the simulated cold seep environment

Laboratory experiments simulating cold seep conditions found that methane seepage accelerated microplastic surface aging — increasing roughness and oxidation — compared to weak seepage areas, suggesting deep-sea cold seeps represent a unique aging environment for microplastics.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence of microplastics in the Haima cold seep area of the South China Sea

Researchers characterized microplastic distribution in seawater, sediments, and shellfish from the Haima cold seep area in the South China Sea, providing baseline data on deep-sea plastic contamination in a unique chemosynthetic ecosystem.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on cold seep sediment prokaryotic communities

Researchers studied how polyethylene, polystyrene, and polypropylene microplastics affect microbial communities in cold seep sediments over a 120-day incubation period. The study found that microplastics significantly altered bacterial community structure in a type- and concentration-dependent manner, with some bacteria associated with plastic degradation increasing, while archaeal communities were less affected.

2023 Environmental Pollution 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Synergetic effects of chlorinated paraffins and microplastics on microbial communities and nitrogen cycling in deep-sea cold seep sediments

Researchers studied the combined effects of chlorinated paraffins and microplastics on microbial communities in deep-sea cold seep sediments. They found that the two pollutants together disrupted nitrogen cycling processes more severely than either one alone, altering the composition of key microbial groups. The study suggests that the co-occurrence of these contaminants in deep-sea environments could have cascading effects on important ocean nutrient cycles.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic type and concentration affect prokaryotic community structure and species coexistence in deep-sea cold seep sediments

Researchers conducted incubation experiments with cold seep sediments amended with four microplastic types (polyamide, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polypropylene) at varying concentrations, finding that both MP type and concentration significantly altered prokaryotic community structure and species coexistence patterns.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in deep-sea sediments and organisms of the Western Pacific Ocean

Researchers collected deep-sea sediment and organism samples from multiple sites in the western Pacific Ocean and found microplastics at all locations sampled, with depth, distance from land, and current patterns influencing accumulation, confirming the western Pacific deep sea as a significant microplastic sink.

2020 Environmental Pollution 378 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Contamination of a Benthic Ecosystem in a Hydrothermal Vent

Researchers documented microplastic contamination in a deep-sea hydrothermal vent at the Central Indian Ridge for the first time. The study found microplastics in seawater, sediments, and all six major benthic species examined, with polypropylene, PET, and polystyrene fragments being the most common types, demonstrating that plastic pollution has reached even extreme deep-sea environments.

2024 Environmental Science & Technology 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in deep-sea sediments

Researchers analyzed deep-sea sediment cores and found microplastics present at depth, providing early evidence that deep-sea sediments globally accumulate microplastic pollution far from coastlines and at the seafloor.

2013 Environmental Pollution 1521 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Contamination of a Benthic Ecosystem in a Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent

Researchers documented, for the first time, microplastic contamination at a deep-sea hydrothermal vent on the Central Indian Ridge, finding MPs in seawater (2.08 MPs/L), surface sediments (0.57 MP/g), and all six major benthic species sampled, with polypropylene, PET, and polystyrene fragments under 100 micrometers dominating.

2024
Article Tier 2

High Quantities of Microplastic in Arctic Deep-Sea Sediments from the HAUSGARTEN Observatory

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.

2017 Environmental Science & Technology 836 citations
Article Tier 2

A Study of the Effects of Microplastics on Microbial Communities in Marine Sediments

This study investigated how the presence of microplastics in marine sediments affects microbial communities and, specifically, the methane cycle, finding that microplastics significantly altered microbial community structure and function. Since marine sediment microbes play a critical role in regulating greenhouse gas emissions, microplastic contamination could have broader climate-relevant effects beyond direct toxicity.

2024 Highlights in Science Engineering and Technology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

High Abundances of Microplastic Pollution in Deep-Sea Sediments: Evidence from Antarctica and the Southern Ocean

Microplastic pollution was investigated in deep-sea sediments from Antarctic and Southern Ocean regions, finding high abundances that varied among sites. The study confirmed that microplastics are accumulating in the remote Antarctic deep-sea environment, with evidence going back to scientific literature from the 1980s that has accelerated in recent years.

2020 Environmental Science & Technology 289 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparison of Microplastic abundance in varying depths of deep-sea sediments, Bay of Bengal

Researchers measured microplastic concentrations in deep-sea sediment samples from the Bay of Bengal at depths of 225 to 1,070 meters, finding the highest concentrations at intermediate depths. The findings add to evidence that microplastics have penetrated into deep-sea environments far from the surface.

2022 OCEANS 2022 - Chennai 7 citations
Article Tier 2

effects of microplastic contamination of marine snow on the deep sea food chain and carbon sequestration by phytoplankton

This study examines the effects of microplastic contamination of marine snow on the deep-sea food chain and on carbon sequestration by phytoplankton, investigating how microplastics alter the biological pump that transports organic carbon from surface waters to the deep ocean. The findings highlight microplastics as a disruptive factor in deep-sea carbon cycling and trophic energy transfer pathways.

2025
Article Tier 2

Impact of Microplastics on the Gene Abundance of ANME-1 Methane Metabolism

Researchers tested whether microplastics affect methane-metabolizing archaea in cold seep environments and found that microplastic addition did not significantly change gene abundance related to methane production or oxidation, though environmental factors like habitat type had a much stronger influence on these microbial communities.

2024
Article Tier 2

The first report on emerged microplastics in deep-sea sediment: Insights from the Central Indian Ocean Basin

Researchers reported the first detection of emerged (beach-cast) microplastics in deep-sea sediments from an understudied region, characterizing particle types, polymer composition, and likely transport pathways. The findings confirm that even remote deep-sea environments receive microplastic inputs.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 8 citations
Article Tier 2

The role of oceanographic processes and sedimentological settings on the deposition of microplastics in marine sediment: Icelandic waters

Researchers analyzed microplastics from marine sediment cores collected at eight sites on the Iceland continental shelf, examining how oceanographic processes and sedimentological settings influence the deposition and distribution of microplastic debris on the seafloor.

2021 Marine Pollution Bulletin 48 citations
Article Tier 2

The deep sea is a major sink for microplastic debris

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.

2014 Royal Society Open Science 1868 citations