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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A semi-automated Raman micro-spectroscopy method for morphological and chemical characterizations of microplastic litter.
Laura Frère,Ika Paul-Pont,Julien Moreau,Philippe Soudant,Christophe Lambert,Arnaud Huvet,Emmanuel Rinnert +6 more
TL;DR: In this article, a semi-automated Raman micro-spectroscopy method coupled with static image analysis was proposed to detect microplastic in a time-effective way with minimal machine operator intervention.
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Rapid Production of Micro- and Nanoplastics by Fragmentation of Expanded Polystyrene Exposed to Sunlight.
Young Kyoung Song,Sang Hee Hong,Sang Hee Hong,Soeun Eo,Soeun Eo,Gi Myung Han,Won Joon Shim,Won Joon Shim +7 more
TL;DR: The results indicate that macro EPS debris can continually produce a massive number of particles within a relatively short exposure duration, and provide useful information to inform policymakers how rapidly to remove 'likely fragmented' plastic litter from the environment.
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Microplastic pollution in estuaries across a gradient of human impact
TL;DR: It is confirmed that higher levels of human impact lead to greater plastic pollution and highlight the need to examine aquatic ecosystems under a range of conditions in order to adequately characterize the extent of MP pollution in rivers and coastal systems.
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Marine litter as a vector for non-native species: What we need to know.
TL;DR: Knowledge gaps and research priorities needed for, first, understanding and then preventing dispersal of alien invasive species attached to marine litter are focused on.
Journal ArticleDOI
Microplastics in surface water and sediments of Chongming Island in the Yangtze Estuary, China
TL;DR: In this paper, the distribution of microplastics in surface water and sediments of Chongming Island was investigated and compared in different environmental medium, and the results showed that polyethylene, polypropylene, and α-cellulose predominated in both phases.
References
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Microplastics in the marine environment
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Lost at sea: where is all the plastic?
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Journal ArticleDOI
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