High concentrations of plastic hidden beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean

Concern over plastic pollution of the marine environment is severe. The mass-imbalance between the plastic litter supplied to and observed in the ocean currently suggests a missing sink. However, here we show that the ocean interior conceals high loads of small-sized plastic debris which can balance and even exceed the estimated plastic inputs into the ocean since 1950. The combined mass of just the three most-littered plastics (polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene) of 32-651 µm size-class suspended in the top 200 m of the Atlantic Ocean is 11.6-21.1 Million Tonnes. Considering that plastics of other sizes and polymer types will be found in the deeper ocean and in the sediments, our results indicate…

• SR
  Sight Research UK

  Awards: noc010009, NE/R015953/1
• NO
  National Oceanography Centre
• H2
  Horizon 2020 Framework Programme

  Awards: NE/R015953/1, 633211
• NE
  Natural Environment Research Council

  Awards: R015953, NE/R015953/1, NE/R015953, NE/R015953/1, noc010009