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
A preliminary study on coastal debris in Nallathanni Island, Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, Southeast coast of India.
TL;DR: The distribution of the coastal debris along the coastal region is chiefly controlled by winnowing action of sea waves and Aeolian action along the berm region.
Journal ArticleDOI
Microplastics in special protected areas for migratory birds in the Bay of Biscay.
TL;DR: Open beaches contained a higher microplastic density than sheltered ones suggesting that many beached microplastics come from the ocean, and Birds are at risk in the studied protected spaces as revealed from high concentrations of fibres in depositions of European shag and gulls.
Journal ArticleDOI
First occurrence and composition assessment of microplastics in native mussels collected from coastal and offshore areas of the northern and central Adriatic Sea
TL;DR: There is a clear need to implement a seafood safety monitoring program to better understand actual human health–related risks from microplastics in marine food webs, or their direct and indirect harmful effects.
Journal ArticleDOI
Micro- and macroplastic accumulation in a newly formed Spartina alterniflora colonized estuarine saltmarsh in southeast China
Weimin Yao,Di Di,Zhenfeng Wang,Zhonglu Liao,Hong Huang,Kun Mei,Randy A. Dahlgren,Randy A. Dahlgren,Minghua Zhang,Minghua Zhang,Xu Shang +10 more
TL;DR: In recent years, there has been great concern about plastic pollution due to the identification of several environmental risks associated with microplastics (see as mentioned in this paper for a survey). But, this concern has not yet been addressed in this paper.
Journal ArticleDOI
Spatial and seasonal variations in biofilm formation on microplastics in coastal waters
Bin Zhang,Xin Yang,Lingchen Liu,Liang Chen,Jia Teng,Xiaopeng Zhu,Jianmin Zhao,Qing Wang,Qing Wang +8 more
TL;DR: Wang et al. as discussed by the authors showed that the total amounts of biofilms significantly varied among seasons and functional zones and that the temperature of seawater was the main influencing factor, which suggests that low-density MPs may settle quickly in summer in some eutrophic areas.
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.