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Long-Term Changes in the Abundance, Size, and Morphotype of Marine Plastics in the North Pacific
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This 70-year study of floating plastic debris near Japan reveals that ocean microplastic pollution has gone through three phases: a rise from the 1950s to 1970s, a leveling off through the early 2010s, and a recent sharp increase. The temporary plateau was likely caused by natural processes like sinking with ocean algae, but current plastic discharge now exceeds the ocean's ability to remove it. The findings suggest that microplastic impacts on marine life and the seafood supply are growing worse.
Understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics of microplastics on the ocean surface is crucial for assessing their impact on marine ecosystems and human health; however, long-term fluctuations have not been extensively studied. We present a long-term empirical data set on floating marine plastic debris collected from 1949 to 2020 around Japan in the western North Pacific. We observed three phases: 1) a period of increase (0-104 pieces/km2) from the early 1950s to the late 1970s; 2) a stagnation period, with high abundance (104-105 pieces/km2), from the 1980s to the early 2010s; and 3) a period of reincrease (>105 pieces/km2) from the mid-2010s to the present. The shift from film to fragmented plastic in the 1980s and the continuous downsizing may have caused the expansion of the offshore polluted area, resulting in a stagnation period by enhancing removal. The removal is most likely caused by sedimentation with phytoplankton, as the abundance of the plastic debris during this period was significantly related to the winter Pacific Decadal Oscillation, an index of annual primary productivity. The recent increase in microplastics suggests that plastic discharge is outpacing its removal capacity, suggesting that the impact of pollution on ocean surface biota is becoming increasingly evident.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.