We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Composition of microplastic in a subset of the eastern North Pacific
AI summary Read the abstract
This dataset describes the polymer composition of microplastic particles collected from three water masses in the eastern North Pacific Ocean: the California Current, an intermediate region, and the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. The main polymers identified were LDPE, HDPE, PP, PS, and unknown polyethylene.
Composition of microplastic in the a) California Current (N=52), b) intermediate region (N=72), and c) NPSG (N=433). Abbreviations are as follows: low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high- density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and unknown polyethylene (unknown PE). Note that water masses should be viewed as highly approximate, since they were estimated using surface trace data only. This is Figure 3.4. in the Goldstein 2012 dissertation.
More Papers Like This
Prevalence of microplastic pollution in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers conducted the first systematic field survey of microplastic pollution at the surface of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean, finding concentrations spanning two orders of magnitude and identifying polyethylene as the dominant polymer type, with the highest concentrations associated with convergence zones shaped by the Kuroshio Current and adjacent eddies.
Microplastic abundance, distribution and composition in the mid-west Pacific Ocean
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers surveyed microplastic abundance, distribution, and composition across the mid-west Pacific Ocean, an area with previously limited data, finding widespread contamination across sampled stations. The dominant particle types were fibers and fragments, with concentrations varying by location and depth.
Microplastics in the Northwestern Pacific: Abundance, distribution, and characteristics
AI summary Read the abstract
Microplastics were sampled at 18 stations across the Northwestern Pacific Ocean surface using manta trawls, finding widespread but heterogeneous distribution, with higher concentrations in areas near shipping lanes and ocean current convergence zones and polyethylene and polypropylene as dominant polymers. The study provides open-ocean baseline data for the Northwestern Pacific, a region historically underrepresented in microplastic monitoring.
Distribution characteristics of microplastics in surface waters in the western Pacific Ocean
AI summary Read the abstract
Surface water sampling across the western Pacific Ocean detected microplastics at an average of 0.37 particles/m³ in all sampled locations, with fibers and fragments under 1 mm predominating and significantly higher concentrations near seamount areas than the South China Sea. The study establishes baseline contamination data for a vast understudied ocean region and reveals that oceanic circulation patterns actively concentrate microplastics even at remote deep-sea topographic features.
Dataset behind review manuscript "Macrolitter and microplastics along the East Pacific coasts – a homemade problem needing local solutions"
AI summary Read the abstract
This dataset compiles published data on macro-litter and microplastic abundance, distribution, composition, and sources along the East Pacific coast from Alaska to Chile. The dataset supports a review of plastic pollution in this region and identifies local human activities as the dominant source, reinforcing the need for local management solutions.
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.