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Plastic litter in the oceans. Most of it has gone missing, but it might just be transformed… or transported
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This review examines the ongoing debate over the apparent 'missing plastic' paradox in the world's oceans, where estimated plastic leakage greatly exceeds measured surface abundance. The authors discuss recent findings suggesting that plastic may be transformed through fragmentation and degradation or transported to deep ocean and coastal sediments rather than accumulating at the surface.
The balance between the leakage and abundance of plastic in the world’s oceans remains a current topic of debate [1], which renders difficult the understanding of the cycle of plastic on Earth [2]. We discuss recent findings and their implications on the missing plastic waste paradigm.
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Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.