Pelagic microplastics in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre: A prevalent anthropogenic component of the particulate organic carbon pool.

ABSTRACT: Due to its ever-increasing ocean inputs, fossil-based microplastics (MP) comprise a considerable constituent in the particulate organic carbon (POC) pool, which is instrumental in ocean biogeochemical cycling. Their distribution within the oceanic water column and the underpinning processes, however, remain unclear. Here we show that MP prevail throughout the water column of the eastern North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, comprising 334 #/m³ (84.5% of plastic particles <100 µm), with exponential relationships between concentrations and water depth in the upper 500-m layer and marked accumulation below this layer. Our results suggest that the biological carbon pump (BCP) strongly contributes to the water column MP redistribution in terms of polymer type, material density and particle

SUBMITTER: Zhao S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10062330 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature