Impacts of changing ocean circulation on the distribution of marine microplastic litter

The stability of polymers against environmental factors, chemicals, microorganisms, and hydrolysis has challenged society with the accumulation of plastic waste and its management worldwide. Large amounts of plastic litter accumulate in the environment and disintegrate into microplastics (small pieces less than 5 mm in size), a topic of real concern especially for products and applications where the plastics are used for a short time before becoming waste, and where they are difficult to recover after use and remain in the environment. Whether biodegradable polymers can be one of the solutions to the problem of plastic waste is a question very often raised in this context. Although the use of biodegradable polymers appears to be highly promising based on recent and past studies, several aspects need to be considered further regarding environmental sustainability, acceptability, and degradability in the complex natural environment. Intensive efforts need to be invested in developing new environmentally biodegradable polymers and smart mechanisms of degradation after use in the environment. The present viewpoint article discusses the present scenario of the environmental acceptability of biodegradable polymers and the opportunities and challenges they offer regarding solving the problem of microplastics and their impact on the environment.

show abstract

“…However, the severity of MP pollution has different emphasis in different parts of the globe, but the concerns are similar. [ 2 ]…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodegradable Polymers: Present Opportunities and Challenges in Providing a Microplastic‐Free Environment

Agarwal

2020

Macro Chemistry & Physics

192

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The high variance at a core level points to the high heterogeneity of MP deposition on the seabed and the likely influence of oceanographic conditions at a very fine scale. The small size and variable density of MPs suggest these small particles are easily transported via ocean currents (Lusher, 2015;Kane et al, 2020), climate and weather changes (Welden and Lusher, 2017), fish and animal behavior (Davidson, 2012;Cózar et al, 2014), biofouling (Ye and Andrady, 1991;Fazey and Ryan, 2016), and buoyant rise velocity (Reisser et al, 2013).…”

Section: Variability In Microplasticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastic Pollution in Deep-Sea Sediments From the Great Australian Bight

Barrett¹,

Chase²,

Zhang³

et al. 2020

Front. Mar. Sci.

207

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Interest in understanding the extent of plastic and specifically microplastic pollution has increased on a global scale. However, we still know relatively little about how much plastic pollution has found its way into the deeper areas of the world's oceans. The extent of microplastic pollution in deep-sea sediments remains poorly quantified, but this knowledge is imperative for predicting the distribution and potential impacts of global plastic pollution. To address this knowledge gap, we quantified microplastics in deepsea sediments from the Great Australian Bight using an adapted density separation and dye fluorescence technique. We analyzed sediment cores from six locations (1-6 cores each, n = 16 total samples) ranging in depth from 1,655 to 3,062 m and offshore distances ranging from 288 to 356 km from the Australian coastline. Microplastic counts ranged from 0 to 13.6 fragments per g dry sediment (mean 1.26 ± 0.68; n = 51). We found substantially higher microplastic counts than recorded in other analyses of deepsea sediments. Overall, the number of microplastic fragments in the sediment increased as surface plastic counts increased, and as the seafloor slope angle increased. However, microplastic counts were highly variable, with heterogeneity between sediment cores from the same location greater than the variation across sampling sites. Based on our empirical data, we conservatively estimate 14 million tonnes of microplastic reside on the ocean floor.

show abstract

“…As there is a complex interaction between the scales of local plastic sources in the environment with rampant changing environmental conditions, the distribution of MPs in the environment is highly heterogeneous (Welden and Lusher 2017).…”

Section: Researchers' Needs and Expectationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing the analytical challenges related to micro- and nanoplastics in the environment and food: filling the knowledge gaps

Alexy

Anklam

Emans

et al. 2019

Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper identifies knowledge gaps on the sustainability and impacts of plastics and presents some recommendations from an expert group that met at a special seminar organised by the European Commission at the end of 2018. The benefits of plastics in society are unquestionable, but there is an urgent need to better manage their value chain. The recently adopted European Strategy for Plastics stressed the need to tackle the challenges related to plastics with a focus on plastic litter including microplastics. Microplastics have been detected mainly in the marine environment, but also in freshwater, soil and air. Based on today's knowledge they may also be present in food products. Although nanoplastics have not yet been detected, it can be assumed that they are also present in the environment. This emerging issue presents challenges to better understand future research needs and the appropriate immediate actions to be taken to support the necessary societal and policy initiatives. It has become increasingly apparent that a broad and systematic approach is required to achieve sustainable actions and solutions along the entire supply chain. It is recognised that there is a pressing need for the monitoring of the environment and food globally. However, despite the number of research projects increasing, there is still a lack of suitable and validated analytical methods for detection and quantification of micro-and nanoplastics. There is also a lack of hazard and fate data which would allow for their risk assessment. Some priorities are identified in this paper to bridge the knowledge gaps for appropriate management of these challenges. At the same time it is acknowledged that there is a great complexity in the challenges that need to be tackled before a really comprehensive environmental assessment of plastics, covering their entire life cycle, will be possible. ARTICLE HISTORY

show abstract

Impacts of changing ocean circulation on the distribution of marine microplastic litter

Cited by 91 publications

References 40 publications

Biodegradable Polymers: Present Opportunities and Challenges in Providing a Microplastic‐Free Environment

Biodegradable Polymers: Present Opportunities and Challenges in Providing a Microplastic‐Free Environment

Microplastic Pollution in Deep-Sea Sediments From the Great Australian Bight

Managing the analytical challenges related to micro- and nanoplastics in the environment and food: filling the knowledge gaps

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About