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What is floating at the surface? A perspective of the UK.
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Researchers surveyed floating macro-litter and microplastics at the UK sea surface, finding concentrations ranging from 0 to 2,139 items per square kilometer with filaments dominating the microplastic fraction and fragments and filaments dominating macroplastics, contributing data toward understanding the missing plastic sink discrepancy.
Marine litter is a global concern, with evidence of harmful effects on biota and ecosystems. There is a discrepancy between plastics supplied to the ocean and observed abundance, indicating a missing sink. Furthermore, it is known large plastic items fragment in the environment, but many studies focus on either macroplastics (¿5,000µm) or microplastics (25,000µm) mainly in the form of filaments were found with concentrations ranging from 0-2,139 items km-2 and macroplastics were found with concentrations ranging from 0 to 1,078 items km-2 mainly in the form of fragments and filaments. Items of all three size ranges likely originate from the break-up of plastic bags, bottles and fishing gears which are commonly comprised of similar polymers to those found in the present study. The deep-sea is proposed as the final sink for litter and harbours large concentrations of microplastics. But, with estimates of contamination in surface water likely being underestimated, the total stock of plastics in our ocean is probably much higher than previously determined. Our findings demonstrate that litter of all size classes are abundant in surface water, highlighting that is a key compartment for the transport of marine litter and could be monitored to better our understanding of the fate and danger of plastic contamination in our ocean. Also see: https://micro2024.sciencesconf.org/559419/document
More Papers Like This
What is floating at the surface? A perspective of the UK.
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers investigated floating marine litter in UK surface waters, sampling particles spanning macroplastics (greater than 5,000 µm) and microplastics, and found filaments at concentrations of 0 to 2,139 items per km2 and macroplastic fragments at 0 to 1,078 items per km2. The study proposed the deep sea as a probable final sink and suggested that current surface water contamination estimates are likely underestimated.
Searching for the missing plastic: a global surface mass budget for floating ocean plastics.
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Researchers constructed a global surface mass budget for floating ocean plastic, finding that the amount accumulating at the surface represents only a small fraction of total plastic entering the ocean. This study explores potential sinks including fragmentation, biofouling-driven sinking, and beaching to account for the missing plastic.
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Researchers compiled a global inventory of small floating plastic debris from ocean surface sampling expeditions, estimating the total abundance and mass of floating microplastics and identifying the major oceanic accumulation zones.
Microplastics Baseline Surveys at the Water Surface and in Sediments of the North-East Atlantic
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Researchers measured microplastic concentrations at the sea surface and in sediments across the southern North Sea and northwestern Europe, finding highly variable but widespread contamination. Sediments contained far higher concentrations than surface waters, confirming that the seafloor acts as a major sink for microplastic pollution.
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This review summarizes the current state of knowledge on floating plastic debris in the central and western Mediterranean Sea, noting that while ocean gyres concentrate plastics, only about 1% of ocean-entering plastic is accounted for at the surface — suggesting vast hidden reservoirs of plastic pollution.
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