Underwater robot shows 'depth' of marine debris problem

Large-scale analysis of the European sea-bed shows that there is human waste even in the deepest zones of the ocean. The scientists found bottles, plastic bags and fishing nets in the Mediterranean, from the continental zone to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 2,000 kilometers from the coast.
In total, the scientists did 600 observations in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans and from the Mediterranean Sea, at depths ranging from 35 meters to 4.5 kilometers. At each site waste was found: plastic, fishing equipment, glass, metal, wood, paper and cardboard. An article about the research is published in the journal PLOS ONE (News Release Ghent University, 7 May 2014).
Click here for the news release.
Click here for the published article.

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