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Figures from Goldstein 2012 dissertation depicting microplastic in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
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These are unpublished figures from a 2012 doctoral dissertation depicting microplastic distribution in the North Pacific, providing visual data on particle abundance across ocean transects that did not appear in published journal articles but are made available for research reference.
These are unpublished figures from my 2012 doctoral dissertation. They didn't find a place in the published manuscripts, but I thought they might be useful, so I am placing them here. Please see the dissertation, linked below, for further methodological details. If you refer to these figures, please cite the dissertation as follows: Goldstein, M.C. 2012. Abundance and ecological implications of microplastic debris in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Ph.D. dissertation. Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA.
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Figures from Goldstein 2012 dissertation depicting microplastic in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
AI summary Read the abstract
These unpublished figures from a 2012 doctoral dissertation document microplastic abundance in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, providing early visual data on plastic accumulation in this major ocean garbage patch.
Abundance and ecological implications of microplastic debris in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
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This doctoral dissertation investigated microplastic pollution in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Researchers documented that microplastic concentrations increased by two orders of magnitude between 1972-1988 and 1999-2010, with small particles dominating by number but large objects dominating by surface area. The work also examined how plastics affect surface-dwelling zooplankton communities and how differential weathering rates explain changes in plastic composition over time.
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Researchers conducted a systematic assessment of plastic debris spatial heterogeneity across the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, finding that plastic abundance varied over multiple spatial scales and was not uniformly distributed within the 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch' as popularly portrayed. Debris concentrations were patchy at fine scales and showed no simple relationship with surface current convergence zones.
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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.
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