In May, retired American naval officer Victor Vescovo dived nearly 10, 927m in a submarine to a point in the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench regarded as the deepest place on Earth.

Researchers from University College Cork have found plastic on the seafloor at depths of more than 2km where even light has never penetrated.

University College Cork scientists have discovered plastic at the bottom of a deep submarine canyon at 2125m water depth while investigating cold-water coral habitats.

A UCC-led team of scientists has discovered a previously unseen cold-water coral. The find may double the amount previously thought to exist in Irish waters.