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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to effects of microplastic contamination of marine snow on the deep sea food chain and carbon sequestration by phytoplankton
ClearCan microplastics pose a threat to ocean carbon sequestration?
This paper explores whether microplastic pollution in the ocean could interfere with carbon sequestration processes, including the biological carbon pump that moves carbon to the deep sea through sinking organic matter. If microplastics disrupt phytoplankton, zooplankton, or marine snow formation, they could undermine one of the ocean's key roles in regulating global climate.
Microplastics may reduce the efficiency of the biological carbon pump by decreasing the settling velocity and carbon content of marine snow
Researchers found that microfibers incorporated into marine snow aggregates reduced both the settling velocity and carbon content of these particles. The study suggests that microplastic contamination could impair the biological carbon pump, the ocean's key mechanism for transporting carbon from surface waters to the deep sea, with potential implications for marine carbon cycling.
Microplastics may reduce the efficiency of the biological carbon pump by decreasing the settling velocity and carbon content of marine snow
Researchers found that microplastic fibers reduce the efficiency of the ocean's biological carbon pump by slowing the sinking of marine snow — clumps of organic material that carry carbon to the deep sea. This suggests that microplastic pollution could interfere with a key natural climate regulation mechanism by altering how carbon moves from surface waters to the ocean floor.
Hitchhiking into the Deep: How Microplastic Particles are Exported through the Biological Carbon Pump in the North Atlantic Ocean
This study investigated how microplastic particles are exported from the ocean surface to the deep sea through the biological carbon pump in the North Atlantic. Microplastics were found associated with sinking organic aggregates (marine snow), fecal pellets, and zooplankton, demonstrating biological packaging as a key mechanism for deep-sea plastic transport.
Microplastics Are the Not-So-Secret Ingredient in Marine Snow
Microplastics are now recognized as a component of marine snow — the particles of organic material that sink from the ocean surface to the seafloor. Plastic particles coated with biofilms act like natural organic aggregates, carrying carbon into the deep ocean and potentially altering the marine carbon cycle.
Microplastic Ingestion by Gelatinous Zooplankton May Lower Efficiency of the Biological Pump
Researchers found that microplastic ingestion by salps (Salpa fusiformis) at environmentally realistic concentrations reduced the density and sinking speed of their fecal pellets, suggesting that widespread microplastic contamination could impair the biological pump's ability to sequester carbon in the deep ocean.
An approach for extraction, characterization and quantitation of microplastic in natural marine snow using Raman microscopy
This study demonstrated that marine snow — the organic aggregates that sink continuously through the ocean — incorporates microplastics and transports them toward the seafloor. The finding identifies biological particle aggregation as an important mechanism for removing microplastics from the upper ocean and depositing them in deep-sea sediments.
Role of Marine Snows in Microplastic Fate and Bioavailability
Laboratory experiments demonstrated that marine snow — organic aggregates formed naturally in the ocean — can incorporate microplastics and transport them from surface waters toward the seafloor. The findings provide a physical mechanism explaining how buoyant microplastics sink to become a major component of seafloor sediment pollution.
Modelling the sedimentation of macro-, micro- and nanoplastics in the ocean from surface to sediment
This study modeled the sedimentation of macro-, micro-, and nanoplastics in the ocean, focusing on how the biological pump and marine snow aggregation transfer plastic from surface waters to the deep sea. The model showed that biological processes dramatically accelerate the removal of plastic particles from the ocean surface, with implications for estimates of marine plastic residence times.
The vertical distribution and biological transport of marine microplastics across the epipelagic and mesopelagic water column
Remotely operated vehicles and custom samplers were used to collect microplastics from depths of 5–1000 m in Monterey Bay, finding that microplastic concentrations in mesopelagic waters (200–600 m depth) were comparable to or higher than surface concentrations. The study demonstrates that the deep ocean is not merely a sink but an active reservoir of microplastics vertically transported by biological organisms.
Prevalence of microplastics and anthropogenic debris within a deep-sea food web
Researchers documented microplastic prevalence across 17 genera spanning approximately five trophic levels in the Monterey Bay submarine canyon food web, finding evidence of trophic transfer of microplastics through the deep-sea ecosystem and higher contamination in organisms from mid-water and benthic habitats.
Weathered microplastics alter deep sea benthic biogeochemistry and organic matter cycling: insights from a microcosm experiment
Weathered (aged) microplastics deposited in deep-sea sediments were found to alter benthic biogeochemical cycles, affecting nitrogen and carbon processing by seafloor microorganisms. The findings show that plastic pollution can disrupt the chemical ecology of even the most remote deep-ocean environments.
A Critical Examination of the Role of Marine Snow and Zooplankton Fecal Pellets in Removing Ocean Surface Microplastic
This review critically examines the hypothesized role of marine snow and zooplankton fecal pellets in exporting surface microplastics to deep ocean sediments, finding that while biological packaging can enhance sinking rates, the quantitative contribution of this pathway to resolving the 'missing plastic' problem remains uncertain. The authors call for improved field measurements and modeling to test these mechanisms rigorously.
Organic pollutants in deep sea: Occurrence, fate, and ecological implications
This review synthesized data on organic pollutants in the deep sea, finding that persistent contaminants including microplastics and their sorbed chemicals reach depths exceeding 10,000 meters through particle sinking, water mass transport, and biological vectors, threatening poorly understood but ecologically vital deep-sea ecosystems.
From pollution to ocean warming: The climate impacts of marine microplastics
This review examined the largely overlooked role of marine microplastics in driving climate change, covering how they disrupt oceanic carbon pumps, alter biogeochemical cycling, and directly emit greenhouse gases during UV degradation. The authors found that microplastics reduce the efficiency of the biological carbon pump by impairing marine organisms that sequester carbon, creating a feedback loop between plastic pollution and ocean warming.
Microplastics Alter the Properties and Sinking Rates of Zooplankton Faecal Pellets
Researchers found that when zooplankton ingest microplastics, the plastic particles become embedded in their fecal pellets, making those pellets smaller, less dense, and slower to sink. Since these pellets normally help transport carbon from the ocean surface to the deep sea as part of the biological pump, altered sinking rates could disrupt this important carbon cycle process. The study reveals a previously unrecognized way that microplastic pollution could affect ocean chemistry and climate regulation.
Modelling the sedimentation of macro-, micro- and nanoplastics in the ocean from surface to sediment
This study modeled the sedimentation of macro-, micro-, and nanoplastics in the ocean, focusing on the role of the biological pump and marine snow aggregation in removing plastics from the surface and transporting them to depth. Models showed that natural settling processes driven by biologically produced particles are a significant mechanism for transferring plastic pollution to the seafloor.
The factors influencing the vertical transport of microplastics in marine environment: A review
This review examines the factors that cause microplastics to sink from the ocean surface to deeper waters and sediments, including particle properties, biofouling by marine organisms, and interactions with marine snow. Researchers found that biological processes like ingestion and egestion by marine animals play a major role in transporting even lightweight plastics to the seafloor. Understanding these vertical transport mechanisms is essential for accurately assessing where microplastics accumulate in the ocean.
Interactions of Microplastics and Methane Seepage in the Deep-Sea Environment
Researchers examined the accumulation of microplastics in cold seep sediments characterized by methane fluid seepage and chemosynthetic ecosystems in the deep sea, detecting 16 types of microplastics with high abundances at sediment surfaces. The findings suggest that cold seep environments act as effective sinks for small-scale microplastics under 100 micrometers and represent an important but overlooked reservoir in the marine carbon cycle.
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.
Marine snow as vectors for microplastic transport: Multiple aggregation cycles account for the settling of buoyant microplastics to deep‐sea sediments
Researchers developed a model explaining how buoyant microplastics end up in deep-sea sediments through repeated cycles of incorporation into marine snow aggregates. They showed that multiple aggregation-sinking-disaggregation cycles can progressively transport low-density microplastics from the ocean surface to the seafloor. The study provides the first comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding the full journey of buoyant microplastics from surface waters to deep-sea deposits.
Pelagic microplastics in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre: A prevalent anthropogenic component of the particulate organic carbon pool
This study measured microplastic concentrations in the water column of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre and found that fossil-based microplastics make up a significant fraction of the particulate organic carbon pool, with implications for ocean biogeochemical carbon cycling and export.
A novel method enabling the accurate quantification of microplastics in the water column of deep ocean
A new sampling method was developed to accurately measure microplastics in the deep ocean water column, addressing gaps left by traditional net trawls that miss very small particles. Reliable deep-sea sampling is critical since the deep ocean is thought to be a major sink for global microplastic pollution.
Microplastics in the maximum chlorophyll layer along a north-south transect in the Mediterranean Sea in comparison with zooplankton concentrations
Researchers sampled the deep chlorophyll maximum layer of the western Mediterranean Sea and found microplastics at every station, with 96% of particles being fibres and most associated with marine aggregates (marine snow). The high fibre concentrations at depth suggest that interactions with sinking organic particles play an important but under-studied role in transporting microplastics through the water column to the seafloor.