Distribution and importance of microplastics in the marine environment: A review of the sources, fate, effects, and potential solutions

doi:10.1016/J.ENVINT.2017.02.013

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Distribution and importance of microplastics in the marine environment: A review of the sources, fate, effects, and potential solutions

Journal Article•DOI•

Distribution and importance of microplastics in the marine environment: A review of the sources, fate, effects, and potential solutions

H.S. Auta¹, C.U Emenike², S.H. Fauziah¹•Institutions (2)

University of Malaya¹, Federal University of Technology Minna²

01 May 2017-Environment International (Environ Int)-Vol. 102, pp 165-176

TL;DR: The sources and global distribution of microplastics in the environment, the fate and impact on marine biota, especially the food chain are described and the control measures discussed are those mapped out by both national and international environmental organizations for combating the impact from microplastic pollution.

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About: This article is published in Environment International.The article was published on 2017-05-01. It has received 1487 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Microplastics.

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Journal Article•DOI•

Microplastics in freshwater systems: A review on occurrence, environmental effects, and methods for microplastics detection.

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Jingyi Li¹, Huihui Liu¹, J. Paul Chen¹•Institutions (1)

National University of Singapore¹

28 Dec 2017-Water Research

TL;DR: There is still no universal accepted quantification and qualification tools of microplastics in fresh waters, and more work is anticipated to obtain accurate information on microplastic in freshwater, which can then be used for the better assessment of the environmental risk.

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1,121 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Studies of the effects of microplastics on aquatic organisms: What do we know and where should we focus our efforts in the future?

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Luís Carlos de Sá¹, Miguel Oliveira², Francisca Ribeiro³, Thiago Lopes Rocha⁴, Martyn N. Futter¹ - Show less +1 more•Institutions (4)

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences¹, University of Aveiro², University of Queensland³, Universidade Federal de Goiás⁴

15 Dec 2018-Science of The Total Environment

TL;DR: A critical perspective on published studies of MP ingestion by aquatic biota is provided and there are significant mismatches between the types of MP most commonly found in the environment or reported in field studies and those used in laboratory experiments.

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802 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Evidence of microplastic accumulation in agricultural soils from sewage sludge disposal

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Fabio Corradini¹, Pablo Meza, Raúl Eguiluz, Francisco Casado, Esperanza Huerta-Lwanga¹, Violette Geissen¹ - Show less +2 more•Institutions (1)

Wageningen University and Research Centre¹

25 Jun 2019-Science of The Total Environment

TL;DR: The results indicate that microplastic counts increase over time where successive sludge applications are performed, and stress the relevance of sludge as a driver of soil microplastics contamination.

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667 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Macro- and micro- plastics in soil-plant system : Effects of plastic mulch film residues on wheat (Triticum aestivum) growth

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Yueling Qi¹, Xiaomei Yang², Amalia Mejia Pelaez, Esperanza Huerta Lwanga¹, Nicolas Beriot¹, Henny Gertsen¹, Paolina Garbeva, Violette Geissen¹ - Show less +4 more•Institutions (2)

Wageningen University and Research Centre¹, Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources and Environment²

15 Dec 2018-Science of The Total Environment

TL;DR: The results showed that macro- and micro- plastic residues affected both above-ground and below-ground parts of the wheat plant during both vegetative and reproductive growth and the type of plastic mulch films used had a strong effect on wheat growth.

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596 citations

Cites background from "Distribution and importance of micr..."

...…al., 2016b; Rillig, 2012; Zubris and Richards, 2005), most of the research done so far has been focused on microplastics in the aquatic ecosystem (Auta et al., 2017; Cole et al., 2011; Duis and Coors, 2016; Eerkes-Medrano et al., 2015; Koelmans et al., 2014; Koelmans et al., 2017; Nizzetto et…...
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..., 2016b; Rillig, 2012; Zubris and Richards, 2005), most of the research done so far has been focused on microplastics in the aquatic ecosystem (Auta et al., 2017; Cole et al., 2011; Duis and Coors, 2016; Eerkes-Medrano et al., 2015; Koelmans et al., 2014; Koelmans et al., 2017; Nizzetto et al., 2016b)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Atmospheric microplastics: A review on current status and perspectives

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Yulan Zhang¹, Shichang Kang¹, Steve Allen², Deonie Allen², Tanguang Gao³, Mika Sillanpää⁴ - Show less +2 more•Institutions (4)

Chinese Academy of Sciences¹, University of Strathclyde², Lanzhou University³, Florida International University⁴

01 Apr 2020-Earth-Science Reviews

TL;DR: In this paper, the current status of knowledge on atmospheric microplastics, the methods for sample collection, analysis and detection, and the recommendations for atmospheric micro-plastic sampling and measurement are reviewed.

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539 citations

Cites background from "Distribution and importance of micr..."

...Compared to the plethora of microplastics studies in marine environment and growing number of studies in terrestrial environments (Alimba and Faggio, 2019; Auta et al., 2017; Prata et al., 2019), research on atmospheric microplastics has only recently gained attention....
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...Microplastics have been found in quite diverse media, from soils to aquatic systems (e.g., oceans, rivers, shorelines, and swamps), and digestive tracts of both vertebrates and invertebrates (Auta et al., 2017; Li et al., 2018; Prata et al., 2019; Ribeiro-Claro et al., 2017; Rochman, 2015)....
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...Compared to microplastics from aquatic and sediment environments (Auta et al., 2017; Hanvey et al., 2017; Prata et al., 2019), the predominant size of atmospheric microplastics is much smaller (Table 2)....
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References

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Journal Article•DOI•

Microplastics in the marine environment

[...]

Anthony L. Andrady¹•Institutions (1)

North Carolina State University¹

01 Aug 2011-Marine Pollution Bulletin

TL;DR: The mechanisms of generation and potential impacts of microplastics in the ocean environment are discussed, and the increasing levels of plastic pollution of the oceans are understood, it is important to better understand the impact of microPlastic in the Ocean food web.

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4,706 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Accumulation and fragmentation of plastic debris in global environments.

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David K. A. Barnes¹, François Galgani², Richard C. Thompson³, Morton A. Barlaz⁴•Institutions (4)

British Antarctic Survey¹, IFREMER², University of Plymouth³, North Carolina State University⁴

27 Jul 2009-Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B

TL;DR: Global plastics production and the accumulation of plastic waste are documented, showing that trends in mega- and macro-plastic accumulation rates are no longer uniformly increasing and that the average size of plastic particles in the environment seems to be decreasing.

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Abstract: One of the most ubiquitous and long-lasting recent changes to the surface of our planet is the accumulation and fragmentation of plastics. Within just a few decades since mass production of plastic...

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4,044 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Microplastics as contaminants in the marine environment: a review.

[...]

Matthew Cole¹, P. Lindeque¹, Claudia Halsband², Tamara S. Galloway³•Institutions (3)

Plymouth Marine Laboratory¹, University of Tromsø², University of Exeter³

01 Dec 2011-Marine Pollution Bulletin

TL;DR: Ingestion of microplastics has been demonstrated in a range of marine organisms, a process which may facilitate the transfer of chemical additives or hydrophobic waterborne pollutants to biota.

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3,643 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Microplastics in the Marine Environment: A Review of the Methods Used for Identification and Quantification

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Valeria Hidalgo-Ruz¹, Lars Gutow², Richard C. Thompson³, Martin Thiel¹•Institutions (3)

Catholic University of the North¹, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research², University of Plymouth³

02 Mar 2012-Environmental Science & Technology

TL;DR: This review of 68 studies compares the methodologies used for the identification and quantification of microplastics from the marine environment and suggests standardized sampling procedures which allow the spatiotemporal comparison ofmicroplastic abundance across marine environments.

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Abstract: This review of 68 studies compares the methodologies used for the identification and quantification of microplastics from the marine environment. Three main sampling strategies were identified: selective, volume-reduced, and bulk sampling. Most sediment samples came from sandy beaches at the high tide line, and most seawater samples were taken at the sea surface using neuston nets. Four steps were distinguished during sample processing: density separation, filtration, sieving, and visual sorting of microplastics. Visual sorting was one of the most commonly used methods for the identification of microplastics (using type, shape, degradation stage, and color as criteria). Chemical and physical characteristics (e.g., specific density) were also used. The most reliable method to identify the chemical composition of microplastics is by infrared spectroscopy. Most studies reported that plastic fragments were polyethylene and polypropylene polymers. Units commonly used for abundance estimates are “items per m2” ...

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3,119 citations

"Distribution and importance of micr..." refers background in this paper

...Plastics enter the aquatic environment in a wide range of sizes (Hidalgo-Ruz et al., 2012; Cole et al., 2011)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Plastic Pollution in the World's Oceans: More than 5 Trillion Plastic Pieces Weighing over 250,000 Tons Afloat at Sea

[...]

Marcus Eriksen, Laurent Lebreton¹, Henry S. Carson², Martin Thiel³, Charles J. Moore⁴, Jose C. Borerro, François Galgani⁵, Peter G. Ryan⁶, Julia Reisser⁷ - Show less +5 more•Institutions (7)

Wellington Management Company¹, University of Hawaii at Hilo², Catholic University of the North³, California State University, Long Beach⁴, IFREMER⁵, Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology⁶, University of Western Australia⁷

10 Dec 2014-PLOS ONE

TL;DR: The total number of plastic particles and their weight floating in the world's oceans is estimated from 24 expeditions across all five sub-tropical gyres, costal Australia, Bay of Bengal and the Mediterranean Sea conducting surface net tows and visual survey transects of large plastic debris.

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Abstract: Plastic pollution is ubiquitous throughout the marine environment, yet estimates of the global abundance and weight of floating plastics have lacked data, particularly from the Southern Hemisphere and remote regions. Here we report an estimate of the total number of plastic particles and their weight floating in the world’s oceans from 24 expeditions (2007–2013) across all five sub-tropical gyres, costal Australia, Bay of Bengal and the Mediterranean Sea conducting surface net tows (N5680) and visual survey transects of large plastic debris (N5891). Using an oceanographic model of floating debris dispersal calibrated by our data, and correcting for wind-driven vertical mixing, we estimate a minimum of 5.25 trillion particles weighing 268,940 tons. When comparing between four size classes, two microplastic ,4.75 mm and meso- and macroplastic .4.75 mm, a tremendous loss of microplastics is observed from the sea surface compared to expected rates of fragmentation, suggesting there are mechanisms at play that remove ,4.75 mm plastic particles from the ocean surface.

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3,091 citations

"Distribution and importance of micr..." refers background in this paper

...Some are foundwithin the Artic and the Antarctic, transported by ocean currents, andwind (Cole et al., 2011; Eriksen et al., 2014; IMO, 2015; Van Cauwenberghe et al., 2015a,b; Setälä et al., 2015; Alomar et al., 2016; Ferreira et al., 2016)....
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...25 trillion particles globally, 92% are microplastics and thesemicroplastics are a hundred times less on the sea surface than expected, supporting the understanding that most microplastics sink down to marine sediments (Eriksen et al., 2014)....
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