海洋底部形成了堆积如山的塑料微粒

海洋底部形成了堆积如山的塑料微粒

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?

我们已经知道，我们对塑料的热爱就像海洋的最深处那样深。因为，当然，我们是在那里发现的，在马里亚纳海沟的底部。它需要一种特殊的潜水艇来完成将近36000英尺的潜水。但是糖果包装呢?

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.

虽然这些不受欢迎的发现证明了这种塑料瘟疫已经变得多么普遍，但这些深海的新居民可能还有一些更令人不安的事情。科学家们还无法解释我们每年向海洋倾倒的800万吨二氧化碳中的大部分。

But a new study may have finally answered that question.

但是一项新的研究可能最终回答了这个问题。

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.

研究发现，塑料正在进入深海社区，那里是50万到1000万种生物的家。但在巨型蜘蛛蟹、管状蠕虫和吸血乌贼中，拉链袋是一回事。塑料也在寻找途径进入真正搅动海洋的喷口。

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.

海底附近缓慢移动的大量海水，被称为温盐洋流，就像一个巨大的循环系统。在这样的深度，它们在氧气和对生命至关重要的营养物质周围穿梭。根据这项新的研究，它们可能还会将塑料微粒传播到很远的地方。

“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.

研究人员在谈话中指出:“我们的新研究表明，强大的洋流将这些微塑料沿着海底卷成巨大的‘漂浮物’，这些漂浮物以惊人的数量聚集在一起。”

The Plastic We Don't See

我们看不到的塑料

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.

我们很容易就能看到漂浮在公海上的危险的垃圾堆，包括垃圾的鼻祖——太平洋垃圾带。但它们更像冰山而不是岛屿。随着塑料的分解，它会变得更小，形成直径小于5毫米的颗粒。虽然一些微塑料仍然漂浮在海面上，但至少有一半会沉入大海，甚至渗透到海洋的食物链中。

“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.

“几乎每个人都听说过臭名昭著的海洋漂浮塑料‘垃圾带’，但我们对深海中发现的高浓度塑料微粒感到震惊，”该研究的第一作者、曼彻斯特大学的伊恩·凯恩在一份新闻稿中指出。

"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."

“我们发现，微塑料在研究区域的分布并不均匀;相反，它们是由强大的海底水流分布的，水流把它们集中在某些地区。”

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

事实上，在海底形成的巨大微塑料漂移可能远远超过我们在表面所看到的。

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.

研究人员说，塑料很可能是由这些深海喷口散布的，与营养物质和氧气一起在深海中嗖嗖作响。事实上，如果海洋循环系统已经被塑料破坏，它可能是扼杀海底生物多样性的关键堡垒。

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.

这意味着海洋动物，特别是对海洋健康至关重要的微生物，正从塑料中获得氧气和营养——而且目前的海洋清理工作可能只是触及了问题的表面。

“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."

“我们的研究表明，对海底洋流的详细研究可以帮助我们连接深海中的微塑料运输通道，并找到那些‘消失的’微塑料，”国家海洋学中心的研究合著者迈克·克莱尔在新闻稿中写道。“研究结果强调了政策干预的必要性，以限制未来流入自然环境的塑料，并将对海洋生态系统的影响降到最低。”