Massive occurrence of benthic plastic debris at the abyssal seafloor beneath the Kuroshio Extension, the North West Pacific

MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN

卷:166

Article

Nakajima, Ryota¹  Tsuchiya, Masashi¹  Yabuki, Akinori¹  Masuda, Shuhei¹  Kitahashi, Tomo¹  Nagano, Yuriko¹  Ikuta, Tetsuro¹  Isobe, Noriyuki¹  Nakata, Haruhiko²  Ritchie, Heather¹  Oguri, Kazumasa^1,3  Osafune, Satoshi¹  Kawamura, Kiichiro⁴  Suzukawa, Maki⁴  Yamauchi, Takuya²  Iijima, Koichi¹  Yoshida, Takao¹  Chiba, Sanae¹  Fujikura, Katsunori¹ 

[1] Japan Agcy Marine Earth Sci & Technol JAMSTEC, 2-15 Natsushima, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 2370061, Japan

[2] Kumamoto Univ, Fac Adv Sci & Technol, Chuo Ku, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto 8608555, Japan

[3] Univ Southern Denmark, Dept Biol, Nordcee & Danish Ctr Hadal Res, DK-5230 Odense M, Denmark

[4] Yamaguchi Univ, Grad Sch Sci & Technol Innovat, 1677-1 Yoshida, Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi 7538512, Japan

关键词: The deep-sea;    Abyss;    Marine litter;    Plastic;    Kuroshio;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112188

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

The abyss (3500?6500 m) covers the bulk of the deep ocean floor yet little is known about the extent of plastic debris on the abyssal seafloor. Using video imagery we undertook a quantitative assessment of the debris present on the abyssal seafloor (5700?5800 m depth) beneath the Kuroshio Extension current system in the Northwest Pacific. This body of water is one of the major transit pathways for the massive amounts of debris that are entering the North Pacific Ocean from Asia. Shallower sites (1400?1500 m depth) were also investigated for comparison. The dominant type of debris was single-use plastics - mainly bags and food packaging. The density of the plastic debris (mean 4561 items/km2) in the abyssal zone was the highest recorded for an abyssal plain suggesting that the deep-sea basin in the Northwest Pacific is a significant reservoir of plastic debris.

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