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Article ? AI-assigned paper type based on the abstract. Classification may not be perfect — flag errors using the feedback button. Tier 2 ? Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence. Environmental Sources Marine & Wildlife Sign in to save

Basin-scale sources and pathways of microplastic that ends up in the Galápagos Archipelago

Ocean science 2019 71 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 40 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Jen Jones, Erik van Sebille, Philippe Delandmeter, Jen Jones, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Philippe Delandmeter, Philippe Delandmeter, Philippe Delandmeter, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, John Schofield, Jen Jones, Britta Denise Hardesty Britta Denise Hardesty Erik van Sebille, Jen Jones, Erik van Sebille, Jen Jones, Britta Denise Hardesty Jen Jones, John Schofield, Philippe Delandmeter, Jen Jones, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Philippe Delandmeter, Philippe Delandmeter, Philippe Delandmeter, Philippe Delandmeter, Philippe Delandmeter, Philippe Delandmeter, Philippe Delandmeter, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Britta Denise Hardesty Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Jen Jones, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Britta Denise Hardesty Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Jen Jones, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Britta Denise Hardesty Erik van Sebille, Britta Denise Hardesty Erik van Sebille, Britta Denise Hardesty Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Jen Jones, Jen Jones, Philippe Delandmeter, Erik van Sebille, Jen Jones, Jen Jones, Jen Jones, John Schofield, John Schofield, John Schofield, John Schofield, John Schofield, Jen Jones, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Britta Denise Hardesty Erik van Sebille, Britta Denise Hardesty Britta Denise Hardesty Britta Denise Hardesty Britta Denise Hardesty Britta Denise Hardesty Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Britta Denise Hardesty Andy Donnelly, Andy Donnelly, Erik van Sebille, Jen Jones, Jen Jones, Erik van Sebille, Britta Denise Hardesty Britta Denise Hardesty Jen Jones, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Britta Denise Hardesty Jen Jones, Jen Jones, Britta Denise Hardesty Britta Denise Hardesty Jen Jones, Britta Denise Hardesty Andy Donnelly, Erik van Sebille, Andy Donnelly, Andy Donnelly, Andy Donnelly, Erik van Sebille, Andy Donnelly, Andy Donnelly, Erik van Sebille, Britta Denise Hardesty Britta Denise Hardesty Britta Denise Hardesty Britta Denise Hardesty Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Britta Denise Hardesty Britta Denise Hardesty Erik van Sebille, Jen Jones, Jen Jones, Jen Jones, Jen Jones, Jen Jones, Jen Jones, Jen Jones, Jen Jones, Erik van Sebille, Britta Denise Hardesty Jen Jones, Jen Jones, Erik van Sebille, Britta Denise Hardesty Britta Denise Hardesty Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, John Schofield, Britta Denise Hardesty Britta Denise Hardesty Britta Denise Hardesty Erik van Sebille, Jen Jones, Erik van Sebille, Jen Jones, Erik van Sebille, John Schofield, Erik van Sebille, Erik van Sebille, Britta Denise Hardesty

Summary

Researchers used ocean surface current modeling to trace sources of plastic litter accumulating on Galápagos Archipelago coastlines, finding that pollution originates primarily from nearby fishing regions and South American coastlines, particularly northern Peru and southern Ecuador.

Study Type Environmental

Abstract. The Galápagos Archipelago and Galápagos Marine Reserve lie 1000 km off the coast of Ecuador and are among the world's most iconic wildlife refuges. However, plastic litter is now found even in this remote island archipelago. Prior to this study, the sources of this plastic litter on Galápagos coastlines were unidentified. Local sources are widely expected to be small, given the limited population and environmentally conscious tourism industry. Here, we show that remote sources of plastic pollution are also fairly localised and limited to nearby fishing regions and South American and Central American coastlines, in particular northern Peru and southern Ecuador. Using virtual floating plastic particles transported in high-resolution ocean surface currents, we analysed the plastic origin and fate using pathways and connectivity between the Galápagos region and the coastlines as well as known fishery locations around the east Pacific Ocean. We also analysed how incorporation of wave-driven currents (Stokes drift) affects these pathways and connectivity. We found that only virtual particles that enter the ocean from Peru, Ecuador, and (when waves are not taken into account) Colombia can reach the Galápagos region. It takes these particles a few months to travel from their coastal sources on the American continent to the Galápagos region. The connectivity does not seem to vary substantially between El Niño and La Niña years. Identifying these sources and the timing and patterns of the transport can be useful for identifying integrated management opportunities to reduce plastic pollution from reaching the Galápagos Archipelago.

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