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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Assessing the effect of microplastics on the marine ecosysteḿs carbon sequestration potential in life cycle assessment
ClearMicroplastic 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.
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.
Distinct 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.
Plastics Affect the Ocean's Uptake of Atmospheric CO₂ across the Marine Boundary Layer
Researchers used six large-scale mesocosms to test whether microplastics in seawater affect the sea-surface microlayer and thereby influence air-sea CO2 exchange, by measuring microbial organic matter dynamics in the presence and absence of 30-micrometre polystyrene beads over a 12-day experiment. They found that microplastics altered microbial biomass production and organic compound accumulation in the sea-surface microlayer, with potential implications for the ocean's capacity to absorb atmospheric CO2.
Microplastics in the Aquatic Environment – Effects on Ocean Carbon Sequestration and Sustenance of Marine Life
This review examines how microplastic pollution in marine environments disrupts ocean carbon sequestration and marine life sustenance, with sources including city dust, tires, synthetic textiles, and personal care products contributing to far-reaching ecological consequences.
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.
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.
Carbon sequestration reduced by the interference of nanoplastics on copper bioavailability
Researchers investigated how nanoplastics affect the availability of copper to marine phytoplankton, which play a critical role in capturing carbon from the atmosphere. They found that nanoplastics reduced the amount of copper available to these organisms, impairing their photosynthesis and carbon sequestration capacity. The study suggests that nanoplastic pollution in the ocean could indirectly weaken a key natural process for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Role of Microplastics in Global Warming and Climate Change: A Review
This review examines how microplastics contribute to climate change through multiple pathways, including disrupting ocean carbon capture by phytoplankton, releasing greenhouse gases from soil, and potentially influencing cloud formation in the atmosphere. Researchers found that climate-driven extreme weather events also redistribute microplastics, creating a feedback loop that worsens both problems. The study makes the case that microplastic pollution and climate change should be addressed as interconnected challenges.
Microplastics, an Uncharacterized Fraction of the Ocean´s Organic Carbon Inventory
This study tested whether standard elemental analysis used to measure ocean organic carbon also inadvertently counts plastic-derived carbon from microplastics in samples. The results show that microplastics represent an uncharacterized fraction of ocean organic carbon inventories, potentially affecting estimates of the ocean's role in the global carbon cycle.
Implications of plastic pollution on global carbon cycle
This review examines how plastic pollution disrupts the global carbon cycle through the production of fossil-fuel-based plastics, the release of carbon during plastic degradation, and the leaching of chemical additives into the environment. Microplastics and nanoplastics from degrading plastic waste affect carbon cycling in both soil and water ecosystems. The findings highlight that plastic pollution is not just a waste problem but also contributes to climate-related disruptions that ultimately affect human well-being.
Contribution of plastic and microplastic to global climate change and their conjoining impacts on the environment - A review
This review examines how the entire lifecycle of plastics -- from production to disposal -- contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, with plastic production projected to account for up to 13% of Earth's carbon budget by 2050. The paper also discusses how microplastics in the ocean disrupt carbon-absorbing marine organisms, creating a feedback loop that worsens both climate change and the spread of toxic plastic particles through the food chain.
Impact of plastic pollution on atmospheric carbon dioxide
Researchers modeled the contribution of plastic pollution to atmospheric CO2 using an earth system climate model and found that carbon leaching from marine plastics or incineration has only a negligible effect on global climate, though emissions from plastic production itself are more significant.
Carbon Cycling in Wetlands Under the Shadow of Microplastics: Challenges and Prospects
This review examines how microplastics disrupt carbon cycling in wetlands, which are critical ecosystems for capturing and storing carbon that would otherwise contribute to climate change. Microplastics can damage plant roots, alter soil microbial communities, and accelerate the breakdown of stored organic carbon, leading to increased greenhouse gas emissions. The findings highlight that microplastic pollution may undermine wetlands' ability to help regulate the climate.
Harnessing green tide Ulva biomass for carbon dioxide sequestration
Researchers reviewed the potential of using Ulva seaweed from harmful green tide blooms as a resource for carbon dioxide sequestration through biochar production. They estimated that Ulva biomass could capture approximately 3.85 million tons of CO2 equivalent, with nearly half stabilized through conversion to biochar. While not directly about microplastics, the study explores how repurposing marine biomass could address both coastal pollution and climate change.
Microplastics and their Impact on the Marine Environment
This review examines how plastic debris in the ocean degrades into microplastics and affects marine ecosystems. The authors discuss how surface plastics reduce heat absorption and how degrading plastics release greenhouse gases, potentially contributing to climate change. The review also highlights the role of ocean plastic in altering marine food webs and threatening biodiversity.
Emerging challenges of microplastic impacts to ecological health and climate change
This review examines how microplastics contribute not only to environmental pollution but also to climate change by altering microbial processes, disrupting biogeochemical cycles, and promoting greenhouse gas release. Researchers found that microplastics affect carbon cycling, phytoplankton photosynthesis, and atmospheric processes in ways that may exacerbate global warming. The study highlights significant knowledge gaps in understanding the mechanisms linking microplastic pollution to greenhouse gas emissions.
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.
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.
Do microplastics affect marine ecosystem productivity?
This study estimated the potential impact of microplastics on marine ecosystem productivity (algae and zooplankton growth) by synthesizing lab toxicity data. The analysis suggested that current environmental microplastic concentrations may reduce primary productivity in some ocean regions, with knock-on effects up the food chain.
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.
Model exploration of microplastic effects on zooplankton grazing reveal potential impacts on the global carbon cycle
Researchers used a global ocean model to explore how microplastics could affect zooplankton grazing and, in turn, the ocean's carbon cycle. The study suggests that while microplastic impacts on zooplankton remain concentrated in about 10% of the ocean surface, heavily contaminated areas like subtropical gyres could see meaningful shifts in biological carbon export to the deep ocean over the coming decades.
Microplastics and Their Degradation Products in Surface Waters: A Missing Piece of the Global Carbon Cycle Puzzle
This viewpoint article argues that microplastics and their degradation products in surface waters represent a missing piece in global carbon cycle models. As microplastics break down into dissolved organic carbon, they could affect how oceans store and process carbon, with implications for climate science and environmental monitoring.
Emerging Challenges from Plastics-Driven Climate Change and Microplastics
This research review shows that tiny plastic particles in our environment don't just pollute—they also make climate change worse by disrupting ocean systems that normally absorb carbon from the air. Even more concerning, these plastic particles act like magnets for harmful chemicals and germs, then carry them through the environment where they can potentially affect human health. The study reveals that most current cleanup efforts aren't working well because they ignore how plastics, climate change, and toxic contamination work together as one big problem.