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Plastics in the Oceans
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This review synthesizes the scientific literature on plastics in the oceans, covering sources, pathways, distribution, ingestion by marine organisms, and ecological impacts. It provides a comprehensive overview of ocean plastic pollution and highlights the transition from visible debris to pervasive microplastic contamination as the central long-term challenge.
Most plastics debris encountered in oceans tends to be the commodity thermoplastics, primarily polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), in the surface water samples. The rates of weathering degradation of plastics obtained in different zones within the marine environment are very different due to differences in temperatures and solar irradiation. A relatively recent concern in the marine environment is the widespread occurrence of microscale particulate plastics or microplastics. Microplastics have been isolated from surface water, mid-water, marine sediment, and beach surface in all the world's oceans. The potential bioavailability of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) to organisms, especially zooplanktons, that ingest microplastics is an important issue as it presents a potential for contaminating the marine food web. The presence of plastics debris in general and microplastics in particular in the ocean environment is a variant of the urban litter problem.
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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.