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How Can Plastic on the Sea Surface Affect Our Climate?
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This accessible science communication piece explains how tiny plastic particles on the sea surface could affect climate by altering exchanges between the ocean and atmosphere, potentially influencing oxygen production and heat transfer. The article highlights an underexplored connection between plastic pollution and Earth's climate system.
Plastic particles from packaging, personal care products, synthetic clothing, and many other applications, are a potential risk to the ocean's health. Tiny, light particles of plastic can float on the sea surface for a long time. The sea surface is a special place: it is rich in chemical compounds produced by marine organisms below. Sometimes these substances make the sea surface appear as a shining, darker or brighter layer. The sea surface also connects the ocean and the atmosphere and controls important exchanges between those two systems, including the flow of oxygen, which is an essential element for life, and the flow of carbon dioxide, one of the main gases responsible for climate change. Plastic particles can increase the amount of chemical compounds in the sea surface layer, because marine microorganisms (like bacteria) may be more productive in the presence of plastic particles than they are in plastic-free environments. This increased production and bacterial activity can reduce the oxygen content of the water. We did a simple experiment to explore this mechanism.
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Can plastics affect near surface layer ocean processes and climate?
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This review examines the potential physical and optical effects of floating plastics on ocean surface processes and climate, noting that while plastics may affect sea surface heat exchange, albedo, and gas flux, the magnitude of these effects remains poorly quantified. The paper calls attention to an underexplored dimension of plastic pollution beyond its biological toxicity.
Microplastics in Our Oceans May Inhibit Aerosols From Cooling the Atmosphere
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This study hypothesises that microplastics at the ocean surface may inhibit the formation of sea spray aerosols — tiny droplets that play a major role in cooling the atmosphere by scattering solar radiation. If confirmed, widespread microplastic contamination of the ocean surface could have indirect effects on global climate regulation.
The links between marine plastic litter and the air-sea flux of greenhouse gases
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A review of the intersecting crises of climate change and plastic pollution explores how marine plastic litter can both increase and decrease air-sea greenhouse gas fluxes through multiple poorly understood mechanisms, including surface film effects, microbial activity on plastics, and photochemical reactions. Untangling these interactions matters for building accurate climate models and understanding whether plastic pollution has a net warming or cooling effect on ocean-atmosphere gas exchange.
A Review of the Effects of Marine (Micro)plastics on Climate Factors
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This Korean-language paper reviews how marine microplastics affect climate-related variables, a topic much less studied than their ecological impacts. Researchers found that microplastics in the ocean absorb solar radiation and alter the sea surface microlayer, potentially raising sea surface temperatures and affecting cloud formation and precipitation.
Microplastics and their Impact on the Marine Environment
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This review examines how plastic debris in the ocean degrades into microplastics and affects marine ecosystems. The authors discuss how surface plastics reduce heat absorption and how degrading plastics release greenhouse gases, potentially contributing to climate change. The review also highlights the role of ocean plastic in altering marine food webs and threatening biodiversity.
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.