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The Mediterranean : Mare Plasticum
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Researchers estimated that approximately 1.18 million tonnes of plastic have accumulated in the Mediterranean Sea — mostly in seafloor sediments — with roughly 230,000 tonnes of new plastic entering each year. The report models 20-year scenarios for reducing plastic leakage through policy and behavioral interventions, identifying key actions to protect one of the world's most polluted enclosed seas.
1 3 Current state of knowledge 1 4 Aim of our work Current situationHow much plastic is accumulated in the Mediterranean sea?2 1 The box model 2 2 Extrapolation methodology 2 3 Results 2 3 1 Overview of the plastic stock accumulated in the Mediterranean Sea: 1,178,000 tonnes (range 53,500-3,546,700) 2 3 2 Sea surface: 705 tonnes (range 288-1840) 2 3 3 Seafloor mesoplastics and macroplastics: 175,700 tonnes (range 50,000-186,000); microplastics in sediments: 1,000,000 tonnes (range 3,270-3,345,000) 2 3 4 Water column concentrations: 325 tonnes (range 0-705) 2 3 5 Ingested plastic in marine organisms: fish, 240 tonnes (range 10-9,400); marine mammals, 31 tonnes 2 3 6 Shoreline: 1,020 tonnes (range 32-2,551) 2 4 Key takeaway points from the plastic accumulation assessment and knowledge gaps Plastic footprintHow much plastic is leaking into the Mediterranean sea every year?3 1 The marine plastic footprint model applied to the Mediterranean basin 3 2 Results 3 2 1 Overview of the plastic flows leaking into the Mediterranean Sea: 230,000 tonnes year -1 (range 150,000-610,000) 3 2 2 Annual macroplastic leakage: 216,000 tonnes year -1 (range 144,000-577,000) 3 2 3 Annual microplastic leakage 13,000 tonnes year -1 (range 4,000-33,000) 3 3 Key takeaway points from the plastic footprint assessment and knowledge gaps 4. Drawdown scenarios What are the key actions that could ensure plastic leakage abatement in the Mediterranean Sea? 4 1 Inventory and assessment of key high-level actions to mitigate plastic leakage in the Mediterranean Sea 4 2 Leakage drawdown scenario over the next 20 years
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