A baseline assessment of the relationship between microplastics and plasticizers in sediment samples collected from the Barcelona continental shelf.

It has been suggested that the seafloor may be a sink for the plastic debris that enters the ocean. Therefore, the collection of data in the seafloor sediments regarding the co-presence of microplastics (MPs) and contaminants associated to plastic is considered a relevant topic. However, the number of studies addressing their possible correlation in this environment is still limited, and very little is known about the mechanisms that determine the release of plastic additives from plastic items.

Corrigendum: A submarine volcanic eruption leads to a novel microbial habitat.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0144.

A submarine volcanic eruption leads to a novel microbial habitat.

Submarine volcanic eruptions are major catastrophic events that allow investigation of the colonization mechanisms of newly formed seabed. We explored the seafloor after the eruption of the Tagoro submarine volcano off El Hierro Island, Canary Archipelago. Near the summit of the volcanic cone, at about 130 m depth, we found massive mats of long, white filaments that we named Venus's hair.

Delivery of unprecedented amounts of perfluoroalkyl substances towards the deep-sea.

The finding of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in particles sinking to the deep northwestern Mediterranean Sea confirms the role of the latter as ballast for the transfer of pollutants to the deep sea. The transfer of particulate matter down to the deep is enhanced during atmosphere-driven, high-energy physical oceanographic processes like dense shelf water cascading (DSWC), which is caused by winter surface heat losses and evaporation. Here we present data from samples collected during winter 2012, when dense shelf water formation and subsequent cascading triggered the flushing of large amounts of PFASs through a submarine canyon to depths in excess of 1000 m.

Carbon dynamics within cyclonic eddies: insights from a biomarker study.

It is generally assumed that episodic nutrient pulses by cyclonic eddies into surface waters support a significant fraction of the primary production in subtropical low-nutrient environments in the northern hemisphere. However, contradictory results related to the influence of eddies on particulate organic carbon (POC) export have been reported. As a step toward understanding the complex mechanisms that control export of material within eddies, we present here results from a sediment trap mooring deployed within the path of cyclonic eddies generated near the Canary Islands over a 1.

Impacts on the deep-sea ecosystem by a severe coastal storm.

Major coastal storms, associated with strong winds, high waves and intensified currents, and occasionally with heavy rains and flash floods, are mostly known because of the serious damage they can cause along the shoreline and the threats they pose to navigation. However, there is a profound lack of knowledge on the deep-sea impacts of severe coastal storms. Concurrent measurements of key parameters along the coast and in the deep-sea are extremely rare.