Microplastics found in greater quantities than ever before on seabed

Currents act as conveyor belts that concentrate microplastics in hotspots, study suggests

Scientists have discovered microplastics in greater quantities than ever before on the seabed, and gathered clues as to how ocean currents and deep-sea circulation have carried them there.

Microplastics - tiny pieces of plastic less than 5mm in size - are likely to accumulate most densely on the ocean floor in areas that are also biodiversity hotspots, intensifying the damage they may do to marine ecosystems, according to the research.