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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Microplastic Distribution at Different Sediment Depths in an Urban Estuary
TL;DR: In this article, sediment cores from an estuary in Tasmania, Australia were sampled to quantify the distribution and change in microplastic densities through time, and a simple statistical model was proposed to estimate the level of contamination in the samples.
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Recovering microplastics from marine samples: A review of current practices.
TL;DR: A review of the literature comparing microplastic separation and identification methodologies from seawater, sediment and marine organisms found visual examination and acid digestion were the most common separation methods for seawater samples and organisms, while density flotation was the primary method for sediment.
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Microplastic exposure and effects in aquatic organisms: A physiological perspective
Silvia Franzellitti,Laura Canesi,Manon Auguste,Rajapaksha Haddokara Gedara Rasika Wathsala,Elena Fabbri +4 more
TL;DR: The recent literature on MP impacts on aquatic organisms is summarized in an attempt to link routes of uptake, possible alterations of physiological processes, and outcomes at different levels of biological organization.
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Microplastic in the gastrointestinal tract of fishes along the Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast.
Fadiyah M. Baalkhuyur,Fadiyah M. Baalkhuyur,El-Jawaher A Bin Dohaish,Manal E.A. Elhalwagy,Nabeel Mannalamkunnath Alikunhi,Abdulaziz M. Al-Suwailem,Anders Røstad,Darren J. Coker,Michael L. Berumen,Carlos M. Duarte +9 more
TL;DR: The results of this study represent a first evidence that microplastic pollution represents an emerging threat to Red Sea fishes, their food web and human consumers.
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Lifetime Accumulation of Microplastic in Children and Adults.
TL;DR: This paper provided a probabilistic lifetime exposure model for children and adults, which accounts for intake via eight food types and inhalation, intestinal absorption, biliary excretion, and plastic-associated chemical exposure via a physiologically based pharmacokinetic submodel.
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?
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