Seafloor microplastic hotspots controlled by deep-sea circulation | Zendy

Ian Kane | Zendy; Michael Clare | Zendy; Elda Miramontes | Zendy; Roy A. Wogelius | Zendy; James Rothwell | Zendy; Pierre Garreau | Zendy; Florian Pohl | Zendy

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Seafloor microplastic hotspots controlled by deep-sea circulation

Author(s) -

Ian Kane,

Michael Clare,

Elda Miramontes,

Roy A. Wogelius,

James Rothwell,

Pierre Garreau,

Florian Pohl

Publication year - 2020

Publication title -

science

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 12.556

H-Index - 1186

eISSN - 1095-9203

pISSN - 0036-8075

DOI - 10.1126/science.aba5899

Subject(s) - seafloor spreading , microplastics , oceanography , thermohaline circulation , benthos , geology , deep sea , submarine volcano , biological dispersal , ocean current , environmental science , benthic zone , submarine , population , demography , sociology

Not just settling What controls the distribution of microplastics on the deep seafloor? Kaneet al. show that the answer to that question is more complicated than particles simply settling from where they are found on the sea surface (see the Perspective by Mohrig). Using data that they collected off the coast of Corsica, the authors show that thermohaline-driven currents can control the distribution of microplastics by creating hotspots of accumulation, analogous to their role in causing focused areas of seafloor sediment deposition. Such currents also supply oxygen and nutrients to deep-sea benthos, so deepsea biodiversity hotspots are also likely to be microplastic hotspots.Science , this issue p.1140 ; see also p.1055

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