Are litter, plastic and microplastic quantities increasing in the ocean?
Type | Article | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | 2021-12 | ||||||||||||
Language | English | ||||||||||||
Author(s) | Galgani Francois1, Brien Aleke Stoefen-O2, Weis Judith3, Ioakeimidis Christos4, Schuyler Qamar5, Makarenko Iryna6, Griffiths Huw7, Bondareff Joan8, Vethaak Dick9, Deidun Alan10, Sobral Paula11, Topouzelis Konstantinos12, Vlahos Penny13, Lana Fernanda14, Hassellov Martin15, Gerigny Olivia16, Arsonina Bera17, Ambulkar Archis18, Azzaro Maurizio19, Bebianno Maria João20 | ||||||||||||
Affiliation(s) | 1 : IFREMER, LER/PAC, Corsica, France 2 : World Maritime University, Malmö, Sweden 3 : Rutgers University, Newark, USA 4 : UNEP/ Mediterranean Action Plan, Athens, Greece 5 : CSIRO, Hobart, Australia 6 : Black Sea commission, Istanbul, Turkey 7 : British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK 8 : BlankRome, Washington, USA 9 : DELTARES, Delft, The Netherlands 10 : Department of Geosciences, University of Malta, Msida, Malta 11 : MARE, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Caparica, Portugal 12 : University of the Aegean, Mytilene, Greece 13 : University of Connecticut, Groton, USA 14 : Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Niterói, Brazil 15 : University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden 16 : IFREMER, LER/PAC, Toulon, France 17 : Ministère de l’Environnement et des Forêts, Antananarivo, Madagascar 18 : Toledo Technology Academy, Toledo, USA Archis Ambulkar 19 : Institute of Polar Sciences, Bologna, Italy 20 : CIMA/ Universitade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal Maria João Bebianno |
||||||||||||
Source | Microplastics and Nanoplastics (2662-4966) (Springer Science and Business Media LLC), 2021-12 , Vol. 1 , N. 1 , P. 2 (4p.) | ||||||||||||
DOI | 10.1186/s43591-020-00002-8 | ||||||||||||
Keyword(s) | Plastic pollution, Marine litter, Microplastics, Trends, Monitoring | ||||||||||||
Abstract | Whilst both plastic production and inputs at sea have increased since the 1950s, several modelling studies predict a further increase in the coming years in these respective quantities. We compiled scientific literature on trends in marine litter, consisting largely of plastic and microplastics in the ocean, understanding that monitoring programs or assessments for these aspects are varied, frequently focusing on limited components of the marine environment in different locations, and covering a wide spectrum of marine litter types, with limited standardization. Here we discuss how trends in the amounts of litter in the marine environment can be compared with the information provided by models. Increasing amounts of plastic are found in some regions, especially in remote areas, but many repeated surveys and monitoring efforts have failed to demonstrate any consistent real temporal trend. An observed steady state situation of plastic quantities in many marine compartments and the fate and transport of plastic in the marine environment remain areas for much needed further research. |
||||||||||||
Full Text |
|