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CalcUlating the strength of the Plastic pump In counteracting the Deep export of Oceanic carbon (CUPIDO)
Summary
Researchers deployed a novel Ocean Plastic Incubator Chamber (OPIC) at the EMSO South Adriatic Sea Regional Facility to study how meso- and microplastics degrade in the open ocean and how plastic pollution interacts with the marine carbon cycle. The CUPIDO project investigated whether the 'plastic pump' counteracts deep ocean carbon export, exploring links between plastic degradation and climate change.
The document is a summary of the activities carried out by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) at the EMSO Regional Facility, South Adriatic Sea, under the EMSO ERIC Physical Access Programme. The project focused on the investigation of the interaction of marine ecosystem, plastic pollution and carbon cycle to understand how this interaction is impacting the climate change. Thanks to the development of a unique device, the Ocean Plastic Incubator Chamber (OPIC), designed by BAS and deployed on the mooring platform at the EMSO South Adriatic Sea Regional Facility, the team studied the plastic degradation in the open ocean, evaluating how exposed pre-selected plastic particles (meso- and microplastics) in the natural marine environment alter over long time scales.