Many people have heard of the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” a vast area of ocean between California and Hawaii where ocean currents concentrate plastic pollution. However, it turns out there may also be a lot of plastic far below the ocean’s surface.
A newly-published study in Scientific Reports shows that plastic debris less than 5 millimeters across, known as microplastic, is common from the surface to the seafloor. It may also be entering marine food webs, both at the surface and in the deep. Finally, the study suggests that most of this microplastic is coming from consumer products.
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