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
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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
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Visual observations of floating macro litter around Italy (Mediterranean Sea)
Claudia Campanale,Giuseppe Suaria,Giuseppe Bagnuolo,Matteo Baini,Matteo Galli,Erica de Rysky,Matilde Ballini,Stefano Aliani,Maria Cristina Fossi,Vito Felice Uricchio +9 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report the results of a visual survey of floating natural (NML) and anthropogenic (AML) macro-litter performed in the central part of the Mediterranean Sea during a dual-use campaign onboard the Italian Navy tall ship “Amerigo Vespucci” which circumnavigated the Italian peninsula during May-June 2016.
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IsPETase- and IsMHETase-Catalyzed Cascade Degradation Mechanism toward Polyethylene Terephthalate
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Microplastics in Marine and Estuarine Species From the Coast of Portugal
TL;DR: In this paper, the abundance and characteristics of the microplastics found in five species collected from Portugal were investigated. But no significant correlation was found between the individual biometric parameters and total MP, fibres and fragments ingested by each species.
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Low levels of microplastics recorded from the common periwinkle, Littorina littorea on the west coast of Ireland
TL;DR: Oceanographic conditions within Galway Bay are likely responsible for the observed variation in MP abundance, with the North Sound of the bay potentially facilitating deposition.
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Are anthropogenic fibres a real problem for red mullets (Mullus barbatus) from the NW Mediterranean
Oriol Rodríguez-Romeu,Maria Constenla,Maite Carrassón,Mariano Campoy-Quiles,Anna Soler-Membrives +4 more
TL;DR: Man-made fibres derived from cellulose are distributed worldwide, but are often confused with synthetic plastic fibres and consequently neglected and their levels and potential effects in wild fish remain unknown.
References
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.