Tiny plastic debris is accumulating far beneath the ocean surface
Floating trash patches scratch only the surface of the microplastic pollution problem
Vast swathes of litter floating on the ocean, like the great Pacific garbage patch, may just be the tip of the trash heap.
Divers have reportedly spotted plastic bags and candy wrappers as deep as the Mariana Trench. Now, a survey of microplastics at various depths off the coast of California suggests that this debris is most common several hundred meters below the surface, scientists report online June 6 in Scientific Reports.
Using remotely operated underwater vehicles, researchers sampled microplastics in Monterey Bay at depths from five to 1,000 meters. The team also measured pollutants in the guts of 24 pelagic red crabs and eight mucus filters from giant larvaceans — both of which eat organic particles about the same size as microplastics (SN Online: 8/16/17).