What is floating at the surface? A perspective of the UK.

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