Sometimes it is appropriate to be astonished about the goals of researchers, for example, when they search for plastics waste in the oceanic abyss or on the highest mountain peak. Such results can still be greeted with astonishment. But when first time amateur divers working for experts found these same signs of civilisation in a US freshwater lake and extracted plastics we use every day, it was time to stop the presses.

It would have been more of a surprise if the divers had not discovered such modern-day detritus in Lake Tahoe, which is in the US state of Nevada among the Sierra Nevada highlands. The largest mountain lake in North America, praised for its turquoise blue (and icy) water, is known for its surrounding beaches and ski areas, making it a top tourism destination. The travel guide calls the region “high-priced”, which might be a bit of an understatement. The deep water finds seem a bit surprising as the rich and famous – alongside those ordinary citizens – are best known for supporting nature and the environment…