The map above shows the distribution of litter and microplastic throughout the Earth's oceans.

(Alfred-Wegener-Institut/AWI-Litterbase)

For decades, litter and other debris have been piling up in parts of the planet's oceans, posing a serious threat to marine life and humankind. Researchers are tackling this environmental issue with an interactive database of ocean pollution.

Even .Trash has been found several miles below the water’s surface and creatures living in the Mariana Trenchhave been contaminated with persistent organic pollutants.

To track the extent of marine pollution in the Earth's ocean, a team of researchers createdan interactive map.

The scientists used 1,249 scientific publications on marine litter to develop two maps, one showing the amount and distribution of litter and plastic debris and one showing how marine life and litter interact, according to the LITTERBASE website.

Marine debris is washed ashore at a beach in Jutland, Denmark.

(Alfred-Wegener-Institut/Kathrin Brockmann)

In the litter and microplastic distribution map, buton the seafloor, metal and glass appeared in significant amounts. On the sea surface, tiny fragmented pieces of plastics and Styrofoam were dominant.

Microbeads are tiny bits of plastic smaller than 5 mmand . These plastics never really go away because they can last for decades, fragmenting over and over again into smaller pieces.

Researchers estimated that 8 trillion microbeads are being released into U.S. aquatic habitats per day. Some marine life species tend to mistake them for food. Scientists are analyzing how these microscopic plastics are affecting marine life once ingested and whether the chemicals in them can be transferred to people that may consume the marine life later.

While putting together the map analyzing marine life and litter’s interactions, scientists found that , with entanglement coming in second. The Atlantic, Mediterranean and North Pacific oceans saw a fair number of interactions, while only a few encounters came from other regions such as the Indian Ocean and the polar regions.

is constantly updated to reflect the progress made in the field of ocean pollution research.