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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Carbon sequestration reduced by the interference of nanoplastics on copper bioavailability
ClearDistinct impacts of microplastics on the carbon sequestration capacity of coastal blue carbon ecosystems: A case of seagrass beds
Researchers examined how microplastic pollution affects the ability of seagrass beds to capture and store carbon, a process important for combating climate change. Evidence indicates that microplastics can alter sediment properties, disrupt microbial communities, and inhibit seagrass growth, all of which reduce carbon storage capacity. The study highlights that microplastic contamination may be undermining one of nature's key tools for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Microplastic Pollution in Oceans: A Barrier to Achieve Low Carbon Society
Microplastics in the ocean are not just a pollution problem — they may also impair the ocean's ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, undermining one of Earth's most important climate regulators. This review examines how ocean microplastic pollution interferes with carbon sequestration processes and argues that reducing plastic production and improving waste management are essential steps for both climate and environmental health.
Recent advances in the research on effects of micro/nanoplastics on carbon conversion and carbon cycle: A review
This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics are disrupting the global carbon cycle, the natural process that moves carbon through the environment. Microplastics interfere with the microorganisms that help convert and store carbon, and they reduce the ability of oceans and coastal ecosystems to absorb carbon dioxide. These disruptions could worsen climate change, which in turn affects food production and human well-being.
Ecological implications beyond the ecotoxicity of plastic debris on marine phytoplankton assemblage structure and functioning
PVC, polystyrene, and polyethylene microplastics and nanoplastics significantly reduced phytoplankton cell density, with polymer type being a key factor; given phytoplankton's role in atmospheric CO2 fixation, plastic pollution could potentially impact the marine carbon pump.
Nanoplastics impair growth and nitrogen fixation of marine nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria
Researchers found that nanoplastic exposure significantly reduces growth, photosynthesis, and nitrogen fixation in Crocosphaera watsonii — a key ocean nitrogen-fixer — suggesting that nanoplastic pollution could decrease new nitrogen input to marine ecosystems and impair ocean productivity and biogeochemical cycling.
Assessing the effect of microplastics on the marine ecosysteḿs carbon sequestration potential in life cycle assessment
Microplastics don't just pollute the ocean — they may also be undermining the ocean's ability to absorb carbon dioxide. This study developed a method to quantify how microplastics impair the growth of marine microalgae, which are the foundation of oceanic carbon capture, and estimated that in 2020, microplastic pollution may have prevented the ocean from sequestering about 75,000 tonnes of CO2 — worth roughly $5.5 million in carbon credits. Tropical and arid ocean regions are most affected, adding a climate angle to the already serious ecological case for reducing plastic pollution.
Nanoplastics inhibit carbon fixation in algae: The effect of aging
Researchers found that polystyrene nanoplastics (tiny plastic particles under 1 micrometer) damage the photosynthesis machinery in green algae and disrupt the carbon-fixing processes that help regulate Earth's climate, though UV-aged nanoplastics caused slightly less damage than fresh ones due to surface changes. This suggests nanoplastic pollution could have ripple effects on the global carbon cycle by harming microscopic algae.
Can microplastics pose a threat to ocean carbon sequestration?
This paper explores whether microplastic pollution in the ocean could interfere with carbon sequestration processes, including the biological carbon pump that moves carbon to the deep sea through sinking organic matter. If microplastics disrupt phytoplankton, zooplankton, or marine snow formation, they could undermine one of the ocean's key roles in regulating global climate.
Modeling the Vertical Transport of Copepod Fecal Particles under Nano/Microplastic Exposure
Researchers studied how nano- and microplastics affect the fecal pellets produced by tiny marine copepods, which play a crucial role in transporting carbon from the ocean surface to deeper waters. They found that plastic particles reduced both the size and production rate of fecal pellets, and a fluid dynamics model showed this would slow their sinking speed and reduce vertical carbon transport. The study suggests that widespread microplastic pollution could interfere with the ocean's ability to sequester carbon.
Microplastics may reduce the efficiency of the biological carbon pump by decreasing the settling velocity and carbon content of marine snow
Researchers found that microplastic fibers reduce the efficiency of the ocean's biological carbon pump by slowing the sinking of marine snow — clumps of organic material that carry carbon to the deep sea. This suggests that microplastic pollution could interfere with a key natural climate regulation mechanism by altering how carbon moves from surface waters to the ocean floor.
Copper Adsorption to Microplastics and Natural Particles in Seawater: A Comparison of Kinetics, Isotherms, and Bioavailability
Researchers compared copper adsorption onto pristine and aged microplastics versus natural particles like algae and sediments in seawater, finding that natural particles generally had higher metal-sequestering capacity, challenging the emphasis on microplastics as dominant metal-transport vectors.
The combined effects of ocean warming and microplastic pollution on marine phytoplankton community dynamics
Researchers studied the combined effects of microplastic pollution and rising ocean temperatures on tiny marine plants called phytoplankton. While microplastics alone had minimal impact at current temperatures, when combined with warmer water conditions, phytoplankton biomass dropped by 41% and diversity fell by nearly 39%. The study suggests that climate change may dramatically amplify the harmful effects of microplastic pollution on the ocean organisms responsible for a significant portion of global carbon capture.
Uptake and physiological impacts of nanoplastics in trees with divergent water use strategies
Researchers studied how nanoplastics are taken up by tree roots and whether this uptake affects tree health and function. They found that trees did absorb nanoplastics through their root systems, and the particles caused oxidative stress and reduced photosynthetic capacity. The study suggests that plastic pollution in soil could impair the functioning of trees, which play a critical role in carbon sequestration and ecosystem health.
Microplastics Alter the Properties and Sinking Rates of Zooplankton Faecal Pellets
Researchers found that when zooplankton ingest microplastics, the plastic particles become embedded in their fecal pellets, making those pellets smaller, less dense, and slower to sink. Since these pellets normally help transport carbon from the ocean surface to the deep sea as part of the biological pump, altered sinking rates could disrupt this important carbon cycle process. The study reveals a previously unrecognized way that microplastic pollution could affect ocean chemistry and climate regulation.
Plastics counteract the ability of Antarctic krill to promote the blue carbon pathway in the deep ocean
Researchers found that exposure to nanoplastics — particularly negatively charged polystyrene particles — accelerates the breakdown of Antarctic krill fecal pellets, which are a key mechanism for transporting carbon from the surface ocean to the deep sea. This disruption could reduce the ocean's capacity to sequester carbon by as much as 5.5 million tonnes per productive season, linking plastic pollution directly to climate change.
Microplastics Reshape the Fate of Aqueous Carbon by Inducing Dynamic Changes in Biodiversity and Chemodiversity
Researchers found that microplastics reshape aqueous carbon cycling by releasing chemical additives that inhibit autotrophic bacteria, promoting CO2 emissions, and stimulating microbial metabolic pathways that transform dissolved organic matter into more stable, less bioavailable forms.
Microplastics disrupt microalgal carbon fixation: Efficiency and underlying mechanisms
Researchers exposed the microalga Chlorella pyrenoidosa to polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride microplastics and found up to 39% inhibition of carbon fixation, driven by reduced chlorophyll content, increased oxidative stress, and downregulation of genes in the Calvin cycle and chlorophyll metabolism, with implications for aquatic carbon cycling.
Microplastic-Derived Carbon Emissions: From Granular Carbon to Dissolved Organic Carbon and Carbon Dioxide under Ultraviolet Radiation
Researchers examined carbon emissions from microplastics during aging processes, finding that MPs release not only dissolved organic carbon but also granular carbon particles as they degrade, expanding understanding of the contribution of plastic pollution to oceanic carbon cycling and carbon budgets.
Microplastics threaten seagrass carbon sinks through microbial changes
A 28-day mesocosm experiment found that microplastics threaten seagrass blue carbon ecosystems by altering microbial communities in eelgrass beds, reducing carbon sequestration capacity particularly when combined with nutrient enrichment.
The impact of nanoplastics on marine dissolved organic matter assembly
Researchers found that even trace concentrations of nanoplastics (10 ppb) significantly accelerate the spontaneous assembly of dissolved organic matter into particles in seawater, driven by hydrophobic interactions — a finding that could have far-reaching consequences for the ocean's largest carbon pool.
Cell size matters: nano- and micro-plastics preferentially drive declines of large marine phytoplankton due to co-aggregation
Nano- and microplastics aggregated preferentially with large marine phytoplankton, causing them to sink faster and reducing their abundance relative to small cells. This selective removal could disrupt marine food webs and reduce the ocean's ability to absorb carbon.
From pollution to ocean warming: The climate impacts of marine microplastics
This review examined the largely overlooked role of marine microplastics in driving climate change, covering how they disrupt oceanic carbon pumps, alter biogeochemical cycling, and directly emit greenhouse gases during UV degradation. The authors found that microplastics reduce the efficiency of the biological carbon pump by impairing marine organisms that sequester carbon, creating a feedback loop between plastic pollution and ocean warming.
Nanoplastics reshape lipid metabolism in marine microalgae with potential ecological consequence
Researchers exposed a marine microalga important to ocean ecosystems to nanoplastics and found significant disruptions to its lipid metabolism, reducing both biomass and lipid production. The nanoplastics altered the types of fats the algae produced, potentially affecting the nutritional value of these organisms for the marine food web. The findings suggest that nanoplastic pollution could have cascading ecological consequences by disrupting carbon cycling at the base of the food chain.
Microplastics Generate Less Mineral Protection of Soil Carbon and More CO2 Emissions
Researchers investigated how dissolved organic matter released from microplastics affects soil carbon storage compared to natural organic matter. They found that microplastic-derived compounds are nearly eight times more easily consumed by soil microbes, leading to significantly higher carbon dioxide emissions and much less carbon being stored in soil minerals. The findings suggest that microplastic pollution in agricultural and natural soils may undermine the land's ability to store carbon and contribute to climate warming.