Plastic debris in the open ocean
Andrés Cózar,Fidel Echevarría,J. Ignacio González-Gordillo,Xabier Irigoien,Bárbara Úbeda,Santiago Hernández-León,Alvaro T. Palma,Sandra Navarro,Juan García-de-Lomas,Andrea Ruiz,María L. Fernández-de-Puelles,Carlos M. Duarte +11 more
Reads0
Chats0
TLDR
Using data from the Malaspina 2010 circumnavigation, regional surveys, and previously published reports, this work shows a worldwide distribution of plastic on the surface of the open ocean, mostly accumulating in the convergence zones of each of the five subtropical gyres with comparable density.Abstract:
There is a rising concern regarding the accumulation of floating plastic debris in the open ocean. However, the magnitude and the fate of this pollution are still open questions. Using data from the Malaspina 2010 circumnavigation, regional surveys, and previously published reports, we show a worldwide distribution of plastic on the surface of the open ocean, mostly accumulating in the convergence zones of each of the five subtropical gyres with comparable density. However, the global load of plastic on the open ocean surface was estimated to be on the order of tens of thousands of tons, far less than expected. Our observations of the size distribution of floating plastic debris point at important size-selective sinks removing millimeter-sized fragments of floating plastic on a large scale. This sink may involve a combination of fast nano-fragmentation of the microplastic into particles of microns or smaller, their transference to the ocean interior by food webs and ballasting processes, and processes yet to be discovered. Resolving the fate of the missing plastic debris is of fundamental importance to determine the nature and significance of the impacts of plastic pollution in the ocean.read more
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Simultaneous grading of microplastic size sampling in the Small Islands of Bintan water, Indonesia.
Agung Dhamar Syakti,Nuning Vita Hidayati,Yales Veva Jaya,Sofyan Husein Siregar,Renald Yude,Suhendy,Laurence Asia,Pascal Wong-Wah-Chung,Pierre Doumenq +8 more
TL;DR: Investigation of microplastic contamination in the ecosystem of small islands in Bintan Regency, Riau Island Province, Indonesia suggests that the generation of these microplastics was likely due to physicochemical processes, including biological degradation in this tropical ecosystem.
Journal ArticleDOI
Quantification of microplastic ingestion by the decapod crustacean Nephrops norvegicus from Irish waters.
TL;DR: Results indicate microplastic exposure in seafood for human consumption, in Ireland, is estimated to range from 15 to 4471 particles per year, which is higher than previously thought.
Journal ArticleDOI
Significant plastic accumulation on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Australia.
TL;DR: From comprehensive surveys of debris on the beach surface, buried, and beach-back vegetation, it is estimated there are 414 million anthropogenic debris items, weighing 238 tonnes, currently deposited on the remote Cocos (Keeling) Island group.
Journal ArticleDOI
Microplastics in sediments from an interconnected river-estuary region.
TL;DR: Results from this study, including the abundance, characteristics and spatial distribution of microplastic pollution in sediments from an interconnected river-estuary system, revealed the fate and distribution ofmicroplastics in the river and estuary environment.
Journal ArticleDOI
Microplastics in Food: A Review on Analytical Methods and Challenges
Jung Hwan Kwon,Jin Woo Kim,Thanh Dat Pham,Abhrajyoti Tarafdar,Soonki Hong,Sa Ho Chun,Sang Hwa Lee,Da Young Kang,Ju Yang Kim,Su Bin Kim,Jaehak Jung +10 more
TL;DR: The presence of microplastics in food and the analytical methods used for isolation and identification are summarized to estimate the contribution of food to overall human microplastic consumption and to mitigate this exposure in the future.
References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Microplastics in the marine environment
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.
Journal ArticleDOI
Lost at sea: where is all the plastic?
Richard C. Thompson,Ylva S. Olsen,Richard P. Mitchell,Anthony Davis,Steven J. Rowland,Anthony W. G. John,Daniel F. McGonigle,Andrea E. Russell +7 more
TL;DR: It is shown that microscopic plastic fragments and fibers are also widespread in the marine environment and may persist for centuries.
Journal ArticleDOI
Accumulation and fragmentation of plastic debris in global environments.
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.
Journal ArticleDOI
Microplastics in the Marine Environment: A Review of the Methods Used for Identification and Quantification
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.
Journal ArticleDOI
Transport and release of chemicals from plastics to the environment and to wildlife
Emma L. Teuten,Jovita M. Saquing,Detlef R.U. Knappe,Morton A. Barlaz,Susanne Jonsson,Annika Björn,Steven J. Rowland,Richard C. Thompson,Tamara S. Galloway,Rei Yamashita,Daisuke Ochi,Yutaka Watanuki,Charles J. Moore,Pham Hung Viet,Touch Seang Tana,Maricar S. Prudente,Ruchaya Boonyatumanond,Mohamad Pauzi Zakaria,Kongsap Akkhavong,Yuko Ogata,Hisashi Hirai,Satoru Iwasa,Kaoruko Mizukawa,Yuki Hagino,Ayako Imamura,Mahua Saha,Hideshige Takada +26 more
TL;DR: Model calculations and experimental observations consistently show that polyethylene accumulates more organic contaminants than other plastics such as polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride, and PCBs could transfer from contaminated plastics to streaked shearwater chicks.