Images of plastic pollution ensnaring and injuring some of our most beloved coastal creatures have been well-publicised. What is less well known is the hidden, but far-reaching, impact of this sinking debris.
For the first time, new research has shown that plastic pollution is actively accumulating in the world’s most remote and extreme ecosystems: deep-sea hydrothermal vents.
Researchers discovered that over 90% of deep-sea snails and mussels living on vents more than 2,000 metres (6,600 feet) below sea level are contaminated with microplastics. The majority of this contamination came from polymers like polystyrene, which is widely used globally in consumer packaging and single-use containers.
Interestingly, the geographic location played a massive role. Organisms from the Indian Ocean contained significantly higher concentrations of microplastics compared to those from the southwestern Pacific – nearly 15 times higher. Researchers believe this disparity is driven by intense coastal human activities and the vast quantities of plastic flowing from major river systems into the Indian Ocean.
The findings come from a joint study undertaken by Dr. Se-Joo Kim and Dr. Jinyoung Jeong at the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), in collaboration with the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST).
