Deep Sea Micro plastic hotpots

Subject: Environment

Context:

Deep sea hotspots of biodiversity are also likely to get affected by micro plastics deposition, according to a recent study published in Science

Concept:

• The researchers found thermohaline driven currents caused microplastics to accumulate in the same regions where underwater organisms flock in the benthic region
• Reason for flocking of organisms is that the same currents also supply oxygen and nutrients to the deep sea benthos.
• Winds drive ocean currents in the upper 100 meters of the ocean’s surface.
• However, ocean currents also flow thousands of meters below the surface.
• These deep-ocean currents are driven by differences in the water’s density, which is controlled by temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline). This process is known as thermohaline circulation.