NOAA's Okeanos Explorer vessel searched the region's depths in 2016 and found diverse life-forms, including species like coral, jellyfish, and octopus. While the Mariana Trench may seem like a dark, lifeless pit, it hosts more life than you might think. Most of the plastic-a whopping 89 percent-was the type of plastic that is used once and then thrown away, like a plastic water bottle or disposable utensil. Other debris came from material like rubber, metal, wood, and cloth, and some is yet to be classified. Of the classifiable debris logged in the database, plastic was the most prevalent, and plastic bags in particular made up the greatest source of plastic trash. Scientists found it by looking through the Deep-Sea Debris Database, a collection of photos and videos taken from 5,010 dives over the past 30 years that was recently made public. But if you thought the trench could escape the global onslaught of plastics pollution, you would be wrong.Ī recent study revealed that a plastic bag, like the kind given away at grocery stores, is now the deepest known piece of plastic trash, found at a depth of 10,975 meters (36,000 feet) inside the Mariana Trench.
The Mariana Trench-The deepest point in the ocean-extends nearly 10,975 meters (36,000 feet) down in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean.
