Underappreciated threat of nanoplastic pollution revealed in Atlantic Ocean study

Underappreciated threat of nanoplastic pollution revealed in Atlantic Ocean study
by Robert Schreiber
Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jul 14, 2025

Plastic pollution affects marine ecosystems globally, with animals suffering from entanglement and ingestion of both large and small plastic debris. While microplastics have been widely studied, data on nanoplastics-particles under 1 um-has remained limited due to their minute size and analytical challenges.

A 2020 expedition aboard the Dutch research vessel RV Pelagia, led by scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and Utrecht University, aimed to address this data gap. The team sampled seawater at 12 locations along a transect from the European continental shelf to the North Atlantic subtropical gyre. Sampling occurred at depths of 10 m, 1,000 m, and 30 m above the seabed to examine both vertical and horizontal nanoplastic distribution.

Lead author Dr Dusan Materic and colleagues used a thermal desorption proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer (TD-PTR-MS) to detect nanoplastics. This method combusts particles to release identifiable trace gases, enabling accurate measurement of plastic types and concentrations based on their chemical fingerprints.

Nanoplastic particles were detected at all sampled depths. "They are present everywhere in such large quantities that we can no longer neglect them ecologically," said Materic. PET, PS, and PVC-commonly found in consumer plastics like bottles and packaging-were most prevalent. These polymers were consistently found in the upper ocean layer, attributed to atmospheric deposition and riverine inputs.

At mid-depths, PET dominated, particularly in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre, a known accumulation zone for floating microplastics. Near the seafloor, concentrations were lower, though PET was still found even at depths over 4,500 meters, likely from synthetic textile fibers or unexplored degradation processes. "Nanoplastic and nanoparticles are so small that the physical laws governing larger particles often no longer apply," Materic noted.

Surprisingly, no nanoparticles of polyethylene or polypropylene-materials common in plastic bags and packaging-were found. These might be transforming or sinking through unknown mechanisms, or simply not detectable using current instruments.

Extrapolating from the collected data, researchers estimate that approximately 27 million tonnes of nanoplastic-12 million of PET, 6.5 million of PS, and 8.5 million of PVC-reside in the top 200 meters of the North Atlantic. "This is in the same order of magnitude as the estimated mass of macro- and microplastics for the entire Atlantic," said Materic. The findings suggest nanoplastic pollution is a major, previously overlooked component of oceanic plastic contamination.

Research Report:Nanoplastic concentrations across the North Atlantic