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Museum foraminifera archive historical marine plastic pollution
Summary
Agglutinated foraminifera from museum collections dating back to 1911 were found to incorporate plastic-derived polymers detectable by pyrolysis-GC-MS, with elevated concentrations in post-1950 specimens reflecting the rise of mass plastic production. This establishes historical foraminifera as novel bioarchives capable of reconstructing a century-long timeline of marine plastic pollution.
Historical marine plastic pollution records are valuable but scarce. We show that agglutinated foraminifera that incorporate sediment into their tests can serve as bioarchives of plastic pollution. Using pyrolysis–GC–MS with matrix-matched calibration, we quantified plastic-derived polymers in historical specimens (1911–1952) across oceans, with elevated concentrations detected in post-1950 samples. Our results demonstrate the potential of historical foraminifera for tracking and reconstructing long-term marine pollution.