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High concentrations of plastic hidden beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean

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Pabortsava, Katsiaryna, Lampitt, Richard S.·2020·Nature Communications
DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-17932-9
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Abstract

Concern over plastic pollution of the marine environment is severe. The mass-imbalance between the plastic litter supplied to and observed in the ocean currently suggests a missing sink. However, here we show that the ocean interior conceals high loads of small-sized plastic debris which can balance and even exceed the estimated plastic inputs into the ocean since 1950. The combined mass of just the three most-littered plastics (polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene) of 32–651 µm size-class suspended in the top 200 m of the Atlantic Ocean is 11.6–21.1 Million Tonnes. Considering that plastics of other sizes and polymer types will be found in the deeper ocean and in the sediments, our results indicate that both inputs and stocks of ocean plastics are much higher than determined previously. It is thus critical to assess these terms across all size categories and polymer groups to determine the fate and danger of plastic contamination.

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Metadata

Authors
Pabortsava, K., & Lampitt, R. S.
Venue
Nature Communications
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2020-08-18
Volume
11
Issue
1
Pages
4073-4073
ISSN
2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/s41467-020-17932-9
OpenAlex
W3078948747
Cited by
499
References
22
FWCI
15.91
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
gold
Licence

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Pabortsava, K., & Lampitt, R. S. (2020). High concentrations of plastic hidden beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17932-9

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