海洋底部形成了堆積如山的塑料微粒

海洋底部形成了堆積如山的塑料微粒

We already know our love for plastic is as deep as the deepest depths of the ocean. Because, of course, we found it there, way down at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. It takes a special kind of submarine to make that nearly 36,000-feet dive. But candy wrappers?

我們已經(jīng)知道，我們對塑料的熱愛就像海洋的最深處那樣深。因為，當(dāng)然，我們是在那里發(fā)現(xiàn)的，在馬里亞納海溝的底部。它需要一種特殊的潛水艇來完成將近36000英尺的潛水。但是糖果包裝呢?

And while those unwelcome discoveries demonstrate just how pervasive this plastic plague has become, there may be something even more unsettling about these new denizens of the deep-sea. Scientists haven’t been able to account for most of the 8 million tons of it that we heave into the ocean every year.

雖然這些不受歡迎的發(fā)現(xiàn)證明了這種塑料瘟疫已經(jīng)變得多么普遍，但這些深海的新居民可能還有一些更令人不安的事情?？茖W(xué)家們還無法解釋我們每年向海洋傾倒的800萬噸二氧化碳中的大部分。

But a new study may have finally answered that question.

但是一項新的研究可能最終回答了這個問題。

Deep-sea currents may now be transporting microplastics along with oxygen and nutrients.

The research found that plastic is moving into the deep-sea neighborhoods that anywhere from 500,000 to 10 million species call home. But zip-loc bags among giant spider crabs and tube worms and vampire squid are one thing. Plastic is also finding its way to the vents that literally stir the oceans.

研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，塑料正在進(jìn)入深海社區(qū)，那里是50萬到1000萬種生物的家。但在巨型蜘蛛蟹、管狀蠕蟲和吸血烏賊中，拉鏈袋是一回事。塑料也在尋找途徑進(jìn)入真正攪動海洋的噴口。

Those slow-moving masses of water near the ocean floor, dubbed thermohaline currents, act like a vast circulatory system. They swish around oxygen and nutrients vital to life at those depths. According to the new study, they may also be spreading microplastics far and wide.

海底附近緩慢移動的大量海水，被稱為溫鹽洋流，就像一個巨大的循環(huán)系統(tǒng)。在這樣的深度，它們在氧氣和對生命至關(guān)重要的營養(yǎng)物質(zhì)周圍穿梭。根據(jù)這項新的研究，它們可能還會將塑料微粒傳播到很遠(yuǎn)的地方。

“Our new research shows that powerful currents sweep these microplastics along the seafloor into large 'drifts' which concentrate them in astounding quantities,” the researchers note in The Conversation.

研究人員在談話中指出:“我們的新研究表明，強大的洋流將這些微塑料沿著海底卷成巨大的‘漂浮物’，這些漂浮物以驚人的數(shù)量聚集在一起。”

The Plastic We Don't See

我們看不到的塑料

It’s easy to spot the menacing mounds of garbage floating on the open sea, including the granddaddy of garbage, the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch. But they’re more like icebergs than islands. As plastic breaks down, it gets smaller, forming particles that are less than five millimeters in diameter. While some microplastics remain afloat, at least half of it sinks into the sea, permeating even its food chains.

我們很容易就能看到漂浮在公海上的危險的垃圾堆，包括垃圾的鼻祖——太平洋垃圾帶。但它們更像冰山而不是島嶼。隨著塑料的分解，它會變得更小，形成直徑小于5毫米的顆粒。雖然一些微塑料仍然漂浮在海面上，但至少有一半會沉入大海，甚至滲透到海洋的食物鏈中。

“Almost everybody has heard of the infamous ocean 'garbage patches' of floating plastic, but we were shocked at the high concentrations of microplastics we found in the deep-seafloor,” study lead author Ian Kane of The University of Manchester notes in a press release.

“幾乎每個人都聽說過臭名昭著的海洋漂浮塑料‘垃圾帶’，但我們對深海中發(fā)現(xiàn)的高濃度塑料微粒感到震驚，”該研究的第一作者、曼徹斯特大學(xué)的伊恩·凱恩在一份新聞稿中指出。

"We discovered that microplastics are not uniformly distributed across the study area; instead they are distributed by powerful seafloor currents which concentrate them in certain areas."

“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)，微塑料在研究區(qū)域的分布并不均勻;相反，它們是由強大的海底水流分布的，水流把它們集中在某些地區(qū)。”

Indeed, the vast microplastic drifts forming on the ocean floor may far eclipse what we see on the surface.

事實上，在海底形成的巨大微塑料漂移可能遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過我們在表面所看到的。

A Plastic Buffet for Marine Life

海洋生物的塑料自助餐

Researchers say that plastic is likely being distributed by those deep-sea vents, swishing plastics alongside nutrients and oxygen throughout the depths. Indeed, if the ocean’s circulatory system has been compromised by plastic, it could choke out critical bastions of biodiversity on the seafloor.

研究人員說，塑料很可能是由這些深海噴口散布的，與營養(yǎng)物質(zhì)和氧氣一起在深海中嗖嗖作響。事實上，如果海洋循環(huán)系統(tǒng)已經(jīng)被塑料破壞，它可能是扼殺海底生物多樣性的關(guān)鍵堡壘。

That means marine animals, particularly microorganisms that are vital to ocean health, are getting a side order of plastic with their oxygen and nutrients — and also that current ocean clean-up efforts may only be, literally, scratching the surface of the problem.

這意味著海洋動物，特別是對海洋健康至關(guān)重要的微生物，正從塑料中獲得氧氣和營養(yǎng)——而且目前的海洋清理工作可能只是觸及了問題的表面。

“Our study has shown how detailed studies of seafloor currents can help us to connect microplastic transport pathways in the deep-sea and find the 'missing' microplastics,” study co-author Mike Clare, of the National Oceanography Centre notes in the press release. “The results highlight the need for policy interventions to limit the future flow of plastics into natural environments and minimise impacts on ocean ecosystems."

“我們的研究表明，對海底洋流的詳細(xì)研究可以幫助我們連接深海中的微塑料運輸通道，并找到那些‘消失的’微塑料，”國家海洋學(xué)中心的研究合著者邁克·克萊爾在新聞稿中寫道。“研究結(jié)果強調(diào)了政策干預(yù)的必要性，以限制未來流入自然環(huán)境的塑料，并將對海洋生態(tài)系統(tǒng)的影響降到最低。”