Environmental Science & Technology2020
289 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 55
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Matteo Galli,
Matteo Galli,
Elisa Martí,
Elisa Martí,
Andrés Cózar
Andrés Cózar
Cecilia Martin,
Elisa Martí,
Cecilia Martin,
Cecilia Martin,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Andrés Cózar
Andrés Cózar
Cecilia Martin,
Matteo Galli,
Matteo Galli,
Matteo Galli,
Matteo Galli,
Cecilia Martin,
Andrés Cózar
Carlos M. Duarte,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Fidel Echevarrı́a,
Matteo Galli,
Cecilia Martin,
Cecilia Martin,
Cecilia Martin,
Cecilia Martin,
Cecilia Martin,
Matteo Galli,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Elisa Martí,
Andrés Cózar
Carlos M. Duarte,
Andrés Cózar
Cecilia Martin,
Cecilia Martin,
Matteo Galli,
Cecilia Martin,
Matteo Galli,
Matteo Galli,
Matteo Galli,
Matteo Galli,
Elisa Martí,
Matteo Galli,
Matteo Galli,
Matteo Galli,
Andrés Cózar
Matteo Galli,
Matteo Galli,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Matteo Galli,
Matteo Galli,
Fidel Echevarrı́a,
Matteo Galli,
Matteo Galli,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Matteo Galli,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Andrés Cózar
Andrés Cózar
Andrés Cózar
Andrés Cózar
Cecilia Martin,
Andrés Cózar
Andrés Cózar
Carlos M. Duarte,
Elisa Martí,
Matteo Galli,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Andrés Cózar
Carlos M. Duarte,
Matteo Galli,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Matteo Galli,
Matteo Galli,
Andrés Cózar
Cecilia Martin,
Andrés Cózar
Matteo Galli,
Matteo Galli,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Andrés Cózar
Matteo Galli,
Andrés Cózar
Matteo Galli,
Andrés Cózar
Andrés Cózar
Elisa Martí,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Elisa Martí,
Matteo Galli,
Fidel Echevarrı́a,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Matteo Galli,
Matteo Galli,
Andrés Cózar
Matteo Galli,
Matteo Galli,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Andrés Cózar
Andrés Cózar
Carlos M. Duarte,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Fidel Echevarrı́a,
Elisa Martí,
Matteo Galli,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Fidel Echevarrı́a,
Elisa Martí,
Matteo Galli,
Carlos M. Duarte,
Andrés Cózar
Summary
Researchers developed a systematic method using a 120-color Pantone reference palette to objectively classify the colors of floating ocean plastic fragments from a global collection. The study found that white and transparent or translucent plastics were the most abundant at 47%, followed by yellow and blue, providing a standardized approach that reduces observer subjectivity in plastic pollution research.
Study Type
Environmental
Characterization of the color of the plastic is often included in studies on plastic pollution. However, the comparability and relevance of this information is limited by methodology or observer subjectivity. Based on the analysis of thousands of floating plastic fragments from a global collection, here we propose a systematic semiautomatic method to analyze colors by using a reference palette of 120 Pantone colors. The most abundant colors were white and transparent/translucent (47%), yellow and brown (26%), and blue-like (9%). The white color increased in the smallest pieces (<5 mm) and far from coastal sources (>500 km). Both fragmentation and discolouration of ocean plastics may occur because of longer exposure time to sunlight in nature. In addition, yellow items peaked at around 1 cm and brown colors at around 1 mm, supporting the notion that yellowing precedes tanning in the aging process, which is paralleled by fragmentation. Apart from the effects of the weathering, our results suggest a second-order modulation of the color distributions of marine microplastics by the selective action of visual predators. The present work provides methodological tools and a wide empirical background to further the interpretation and applicability of the color information on ocean plastics.