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
Citations
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Plastic and Human Health: A Micro Issue?
TL;DR: There is potential for microplastics to impact human health, and assessing current exposure levels and burdens is key to guide future research into the potential mechanisms of toxicity and hence therein possible health effects.
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Distribution and importance of microplastics in the marine environment: A review of the sources, fate, effects, and potential solutions
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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The deep sea is a major sink for microplastic debris
Lucy C. Woodall,Anna Sanchez-Vidal,Miquel Canals,Gordon L.J. Paterson,Rachel L. Coppock,Victoria A. Sleight,A. Calafat,Alex Rogers,Bhavani Narayanaswamy,Richard C. Thompson +9 more
TL;DR: It is shown that deep-sea sediments are a likely sink for microplastics, and the dominance of microfibres points to a previously underreported and unsampled plastic fraction.
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Oyster reproduction is affected by exposure to polystyrene microplastics
Rossana Sussarellu,Marc Suquet,Yoann Thomas,Christophe Lambert,Caroline Fabioux,Marie Eve Julie Pernet,Nelly Le Goïc,Virgile Quillien,Christian Mingant,Yanouk Epelboin,Charlotte Corporeau,J. Guyomarch,Johan Robbens,Ika Paul-Pont,Philippe Soudant,Arnaud Huvet +15 more
TL;DR: Evidence is provided that micro-PS cause feeding modifications and reproductive disruption in oysters, with significant impacts on offspring, providing ground-breaking data on microplastic impacts in an invertebrate model, helping to predict ecological impact in marine ecosystems.
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The plastic in microplastics: A review.
TL;DR: This review assesses the relevance of selected characteristics of plastics that composes the microplastics, to their role as a pollutant with potentially serious ecological impacts.
References
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