1 de mayo de 2020, 12:23Washington, May 1 (Prensa Latina) The sea floor currently has the highest levels of microplastics since records exist, according to international research on the subject.
A study by U.K., German and French agencies, published in the journal Science, showed how deep-sea currents become conveyor belts, carrying small pieces of plastic and fibers across the seafloor.
Such currents can concentrate microplastics within large accumulations of sediment, which the researchers called 'microplastic hot spots' (equivalent to so-called 'garbage patches').
Almost everyone has heard of the infamous 'garbage patches' of plastic floating in the ocean, but we were surprised by the high concentration of microplastics found deep in the sea floor', said Ian Kane, of the University of Manchester and lead author of the research.
We discovered that the microplastics, he added, are not evenly distributed in the study area but are concentrated in certain spaces by powerful currents on the sea floor. Microplastics on the seafloor are mainly composed of textile and clothing fibres, which do not filter effectively in domestic wastewater treatment plants and enter rivers and oceans easily.
This study will help predict the location of other microplastic hotspots in deep waters and directly investigate their impact on marine life.
Our results highlight the need for policy interventions to limit the future flow of plastics into natural environments and minimize impacts on ocean ecosystems', said Mike Clare of the UK's National Oceanography Centre.
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2020-05-01 16:25:25Z
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