continental slope

The offshore samples, which were collected north of the continental slope and the Antarctic Slope Current, contained the highest concentrations of microplastics.

Contourites are often found on continental slopes or around deep-sea mountains.

Onshore groundwater that flows through the subsurface and offshore brings nutrients and chemicals that sustain delicate marine communities in places along the continental slope.

This would extend the Bering Sea boundary west and south to Alaska’s Fox Islands, through Unimak Pass to the edge of the continental slope, the agency said in a statement.

That number dropped to just nine pieces deeper down on the continental slope.