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Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence.
Environmental Sources
Marine & Wildlife
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Distribution of Surface Plastic Debris in the Eastern Pacific Ocean from an 11-Year Data Set
Environmental Science & Technology2014
471 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 45
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Tobias Kukulka,
Tobias Kukulka,
Kara Lavender Law
Tobias Kukulka,
Kara Lavender Law
Kara Lavender Law
Tobias Kukulka,
Tobias Kukulka,
Kara Lavender Law
Kara Lavender Law
Tobias Kukulka,
Tobias Kukulka,
Kara Lavender Law
Kara Lavender Law
Tobias Kukulka,
Kara Lavender Law
Tobias Kukulka,
Erik Zettler,
Erik Zettler,
Erik Zettler,
Erik Zettler,
Erik Zettler,
Skye Morét-Ferguson,
G. Proskurowski,
Skye Morét-Ferguson,
Deborah S. Goodwin,
Tobias Kukulka,
G. Proskurowski,
Tobias Kukulka,
Tobias Kukulka,
Tobias Kukulka,
Tobias Kukulka,
Kara Lavender Law
Kara Lavender Law
Kara Lavender Law
Kara Lavender Law
G. Proskurowski,
Kara Lavender Law
Erik Zettler,
Erik Zettler,
Erik Zettler,
Kara Lavender Law
Tobias Kukulka,
Erik Zettler,
G. Proskurowski,
G. Proskurowski,
G. Proskurowski,
Deborah S. Goodwin,
Skye Morét-Ferguson,
G. Proskurowski,
G. Proskurowski,
G. Proskurowski,
G. Proskurowski,
Skye Morét-Ferguson,
Kara Lavender Law
Kara Lavender Law
Erik Zettler,
Emelia DeForce,
Kara Lavender Law
Emelia DeForce,
Erik Zettler,
Erik Zettler,
Kara Lavender Law
Tobias Kukulka,
Erik Zettler,
G. Proskurowski,
Kara Lavender Law
Erik Zettler,
Emelia DeForce,
Kara Lavender Law
Emelia DeForce,
G. Proskurowski,
Tobias Kukulka,
Kara Lavender Law
G. Proskurowski,
G. Proskurowski,
Erik Zettler,
Erik Zettler,
Kara Lavender Law
Erik Zettler,
G. Proskurowski,
G. Proskurowski,
G. Proskurowski,
G. Proskurowski,
Deborah S. Goodwin,
Kara Lavender Law
Kara Lavender Law
Kara Lavender Law
Kara Lavender Law
Kara Lavender Law
Kara Lavender Law
Kara Lavender Law
Kara Lavender Law
Kara Lavender Law
Summary
Analysis of over 2,500 plankton net tows in the eastern Pacific Ocean from 2001 to 2012 documented a persistent plastic accumulation zone in the North Pacific subtropical gyre corresponding to the predicted convergence zone of ocean currents. The 11-year dataset reveals the long-term stability of this "garbage patch" and its distinct seasonal and interannual variability.
Study Type
Environmental
We present an extensive survey of floating plastic debris in the eastern North and South Pacific Oceans from more than 2500 plankton net tows conducted between 2001 and 2012. From these data we defined an accumulation zone (25 to 41 °N, 130 to 180 °W) in the North Pacific subtropical gyre that closely corresponds to centers of accumulation resulting from the convergence of ocean surface currents predicted by several oceanographic numerical models. Maximum plastic concentrations from individual surface net tows exceeded 10(6) pieces km(-2), with concentrations decreasing with increasing distance from the predicted center of accumulation. Outside the North Pacific subtropical gyre the median plastic concentration was 0 pieces km(-2). We were unable to detect a robust temporal trend in the data set, perhaps because of confounded spatial and temporal variability. Large spatiotemporal variability in plastic concentration causes order of magnitude differences in summary statistics calculated over short time periods or in limited geographic areas. Utilizing all available plankton net data collected in the eastern Pacific Ocean (17.4 °S to 61.0 °N; 85.0 to 180.0 °W) since 1999, we estimated a minimum of 21,290 t of floating microplastic.