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Particles may outnumber zooplankton, which underpin marine life and regulate climateThe abundance of microplastic pollution in the oceans is likely to have been vastly underestimated, according to research that suggests there are at least double the number of particles as previously thought.Scientists trawled waters off the coasts of the UK and US and found many more particles using nets with a fine mesh size...

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

Plastic pollution has entered the fossil record, research showsPlastic pollution is being deposited into the fossil record, research has found, with contamination increasing exponentially since 1945.Scientists suggest the plastic layers could be used to mark the start of the Anthropocene, the proposed geological epoch in which human activities have come to dominate the planet. They say after the bronze and iron ages, the current...