Microplastics found in remote Pacific MPA

A recent study by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research and the Alfred Wegener Institute has discovered significant quantities of plastic waste and microplastics in a remote marine protected area (MPA) in the Pacific Ocean, comparable to those in major garbage patches. This unexpected finding from samples taken during a 2019 expedition challenges previous assumptions that plastic pollution is concentrated in known accumulation zones. The research revealed plastics at all sampling stations, indicating that microplastics are more widely distributed across the oceans than previously thought, posing a substantial threat to the entire ocean ecosystem. The study highlights the urgent need for global action to halt the emission of plastics into the ocean and the importance of the upcoming UN Plastics Treaty aimed at combating plastic pollution. (Phys.org)