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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Marine litter on the floor of deep submarine canyons of the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea: The role of hydrodynamic processes
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used the Liropus 2000 ROV to detect litter in three large submarine canyons of the NW Mediterranean Sea, namely Cap de Creus, La Fonera and Blanes canyours, at depths ranging from 140 to 1731m.
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Maternal Polystyrene Microplastic Exposure during Gestation and Lactation Altered Metabolic Homeostasis in the Dams and Their F1 and F2 Offspring.
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that maternal MPs exposure during gestation and lactation increases the risk of metabolic disorder, and these results provide new insight into the potential long-term hazards of MPs.
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Microplastics in coastal environments of the Arabian Gulf
Oyebamiji Abib Abayomi,Pedro Range,Mohammad A. Al-Ghouti,Jeffrey Philip Obbard,Saeed Al-Meer,Radhouane Ben-Hamadou +5 more
TL;DR: Results show the pervasiveness of microplastic pollution in coastal environments of the Arabian Gulf with the highest values being consistently found 10km offshore, suggesting the presence of a convergence zone.
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Plastic ingestion by marine fish in the wild
TL;DR: In the recent years, marine plastic pollution has become a prominent environmental issue in the world and plastic ingestion is of special concern, as its magnitude and consequences for marine organisms and potentia as discussed by the authors.
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Interaction of freshwater microplastics with biota and heavy metals: a review
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of microplastic contamination in freshwater systems with focus on adsorption of heavy metals is presented, where the authors find that microplastics may adsorb and carry other aquatic pollutants such as heavy metals, and combined toxic effects include endocrine disrupting and reduced predatory behavior of aquatic carnivores.
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
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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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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.