Persistence of plastic debris and its colonization by bacterial communities after two decades on the abyssal seafloor.

ABSTRACT: The fate of plastic debris entering the oceans is largely unconstrained. Currently, intensified research is devoted to the abiotic and microbial degradation of plastic floating near the ocean surface for an extended period of time. In contrast, the impacts of environmental conditions in the deep sea on polymer properties and rigidity are virtually unknown. Here, we present unique results of plastic items identified to have been introduced into deep-sea sediments at a water depth of 4150 m in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean more than two decades ago. The results, including optical, spectroscopic, physical and microbial analyses, clearly demonstrate that the bulk polymer materials show no apparent sign of physical or chemical degradation. Solely the polymer surface layers showed reduced

SUBMITTER: Krause S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7289819 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature