Record levels of microplastics discovered on the ocean seabed 研究人員發現海底微塑料含量達有史以來最高值

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學習要點

有關 “plastic pollution（塑料污染）” 的詞匯

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How many plastic particles per square metre have been discovered in the world’s oceans?

文字稿

A simulation of the deep ocean. This experiment, in a large tank in a lab in the Netherlands, shows how ocean currents push mounds of sediment across the seafloor. Mixed into those mounds are millions of tiny pieces of plastic, and scientists have now measured the extent of this seabed pollution.

這是一個深海模擬試驗。這項在荷蘭一個實驗室內的大型水槽中進行的試驗展示瞭洋流推動海底成堆沉積物流動的過程。沉積物中混雜著數百萬的微型塑料碎片，科學傢們現已測量瞭這片海底的污染程度。

Prof Elda Miramontes, University of Bremen
We are all aware of all of the plastic that is floating in the ocean, but it only represents one per cent of the whole amount. The rest is somewhere in the deep sea. We found in this area the highest accumulations ever reported in the global oceans and there are 1.9 million particles, pieces, small pieces per square metre.

埃爾達·米拉蒙特斯教授不來梅大學
“我們都知道海面上漂浮著大量的塑料，但這隻占瞭總量的百分之一。其餘的都在深海。我們在這片區域內發現的塑料碎片堆積物是有記錄以來全球海洋中濃度最高的，每平方米含有190萬顆微粒和微型碎片。”

Studies in 2018 by some of the same researchers revealed just how much plastic pollution was locked in UK riverbeds then flushed out to sea during floods.

該實驗的部分研究人員在2018年開展的研究揭示瞭有多少塑料污染物滯留在英國的河床中，然後在洪水期間被沖入大海。

These latest experiments, in the Mediterranean, extracted whole chunks of seafloor from depths of up to a kilometre. That enabled scientists to track how the currents carry plastic waste out to sea, where it breaks down. The deep currents then accumulate these millions of fragments into what researchers call microplastic hotspots.

這些最新的實驗在地中海進行，科學傢們從深達一公裡的海底挖出瞭整塊的海床。這使他們能夠追蹤洋流是怎樣將塑料垃圾帶到海洋中的，塑料垃圾在海洋中會分解成小碎片。這些深海洋流接著將數百萬個碎片聚積到研究者們所稱的 “微塑料熱點地區”。

The majority of the particles they found were tiny fibres from textiles and clothing that simply slip through the filtration systems in waste water treatment plants.

研究人員們發現的大多數顆粒物來自紡織品和服裝的微小纖維，它們很容易從廢水處理廠的過濾系統中流出來。

Dr Ian Kane, University of Manchester
We’re filling in part of the gaps in our understanding of this missing 99 per cent of plastic. There are fragile ecosystems on the seafloor which depend on the nutrients and oxygen which are being flushed by these ocean currents. These currents are transporting microplastics to the same places that these fragile ecosystems exist.

伊恩·凱恩博士曼徹斯特大學
“我們在一定程度上填補瞭對下落不明的 99%的塑料認識上的空白。海底有脆弱的生態系統，它們依賴於被洋流沖走的營養物質和氧氣。洋流正在把微塑料輸送到這些脆弱生態系統存在的地方。”

Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey, in another study published this week, revealed that plastic pollution was reaching the shores of some of the most remote islands.

英國南極調查局的科學傢在本周發表的另一項研究中透露，塑料污染已經蔓延到一些最偏遠的島嶼。

In recent years we have finally started to see the impact that our plastic waste has on the oceans. This research has started to uncover the invisible, long-term consequences.

近年來，我們終於開始看到塑料垃圾對海洋環境的影響。這項研究已開始揭示那些肉眼看不見的、長期的後果。