Hitchhiking into the Deep: How Microplastic Particles are Exported through the Biological Carbon Pump in the North Atlantic Ocean
Luisa Galgani, Isabel Goßmann, Barbara M. Scholz‐Böttcher, Xiangtao Jiang, Zhanfei Liu, Lindsay Scheidemann, Cathleen Schlundt, Anja Engel
Abstract
measured vertical fluxes of microplastics deploying drifting sediment traps in the North Atlantic Gyre from 50 m down to 600 m depth, showing that through biogenic polymers plastic can be embedded into rapidly sinking particles also known as marine snow. We furthermore show that the carbon contained in plastic can represent up to 3.8% of the total downward flux of particulate organic carbon. Our results shed light on important pathways regulating the transport of microplastics in marine systems and on potential interactions with the marine carbon cycle, suggesting microplastic removal through the "biological plastic pump".