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Multidecadal increase in plastic particles in coastal ocean sediments
Summary
Analysis of dated sediment cores from the Santa Barbara Basin, California, showed a multi-decade increase in microplastic particle concentrations beginning around 1945 and accelerating in recent decades, mirroring the historical growth of plastic production. This sediment archive provides a clear record of how plastic pollution has progressively contaminated even relatively protected coastal marine environments.
We analyzed coastal sediments of the Santa Barbara Basin, California, for historical changes in microplastic deposition using a box core that spanned 1834-2009. The sediment was visually sorted for plastic, and a subset was confirmed as plastic polymers via FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectroscopy. After correcting for contamination introduced during sample processing, we found an exponential increase in plastic deposition from 1945 to 2009 with a doubling time of 15 years. This increase correlated closely with worldwide plastic production and southern California coastal population increases over the same period. Increased plastic loading in sediments has unknown consequences for deposit-feeding benthic organisms. This increase in plastic deposition in the post-World War II years can be used as a geological proxy for the Great Acceleration of the Anthropocene in the sedimentary record.
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