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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From macro- to microplastics - Analysis of EU regulation along the life cycle of plastic bags ☆
Ida M. Steensgaard,Kristian Syberg,Sinja Rist,Nanna B. Hartmann,Alessio Boldrin,Steffen Foss Hansen +5 more
TL;DR: This paper maps European regulation taking outset in the life cycle perspective of plastic carrier bags: from plastic bag production to when it enters the environment, and recommends that polymers are categorized according to whether they are polymers with the same monomer constituents (homopolymers) or with different monomers constituents (copolymers) and thatpolymers are no longer exempt from registration and evaluation under REACH.
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On mechanical fragmentation of single-use plastics in the sea swash zone with different types of bottom sediments: Insights from laboratory experiments.
TL;DR: It is confirmed that, under swash-like mixing with coarse sediments, the MPs tend to burry below the sediment surface, similar to that for MPs floating at the ocean surface.
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Microplastics pollution after the removal of the Costa Concordia wreck: First evidences from a biomonitoring case study
TL;DR: Pollution in the area of Costa Concordia was more evident on benthonic environment than on seawater column, providing novel insights on the possibility of using appropriate sentinel organisms for monitoring specific anthropogenic sources of MPs pollution in the marine environment.
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Sensing Ocean Plastics with an Airborne Hyperspectral Shortwave Infrared Imager
Shungudzemwoyo P. Garaba,Shungudzemwoyo P. Garaba,Jen Aitken,Boyan Slat,Heidi M. Dierssen,Laurent Lebreton,Oliver Zielinski,Julia Reisser,Julia Reisser +8 more
TL;DR: The potential of SWIR remote sensing technology for detecting and quantifying ocean plastics, thus provide relevant information to those developing better monitoring solutions for ocean plastic pollution, is explored.
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Surface functionalization determines behavior of nanoplastic solutions in model aquatic environments.
Kevin Tallec,Océane Blard,Carmen González-Fernández,Guillaume Brotons,Mathieu Berchel,Philippe Soudant,Arnaud Huvet,Ika Paul-Pont +7 more
TL;DR: Analysis performed over several days demonstrated that nanoplastics formed evolving dynamic structures detected mainly with an increase of the homo-aggregation level, indicating that surface properties of given polymers/particles are expected to influence their fate in complex and dynamic aquatic environments.
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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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.