Microplastic pollution in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean: Validated and opportunistic sampling

Levels of marine debris, including microplastics, are largely un-documented in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. Broad scale monitoring efforts are required to understand the distribution, abundance and ecological implications of microplastic pollution. A method of continuous sampling was developed to b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine pollution bulletin 2014-11, Vol.88 (1-2), p.325-333
Main Authors: LUSHER, Amy L, BURKE, Ann, O'CONNOR, Ian, OFFICER, Rick
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abundance
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Atlantic Ocean
Biological and medical sciences
Conservation of Natural Resources
Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution
Environmental monitoring
Environmental Monitoring - methods
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Marine
Marine and brackish environment
Northeast
Plastics - analysis
Pollution abatement
Sampling
Sea water ecosystems
Synecology
Vessels
Waste Products - analysis
Water - chemistry
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
Water pollution
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Summary:Levels of marine debris, including microplastics, are largely un-documented in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. Broad scale monitoring efforts are required to understand the distribution, abundance and ecological implications of microplastic pollution. A method of continuous sampling was developed to be conducted in conjunction with a wide range of vessel operations to maximise vessel time. Transects covering a total of 12,700 km were sampled through continuous monitoring of open ocean sub-surface water resulting in 470 samples. Items classified as potential plastics were identified in 94% of samples. A total of 2315 particles were identified, 89% were less than 5mm in length classifying them as microplastics. Average plastic abundance in the Northeast Atlantic was calculated as 2.46 particles m(-3). This is the first report to demonstrate the ubiquitous nature of microplastic pollution in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean and to present a potential method for standardised monitoring of microplastic pollution.
ISSN:0025-326X
1879-3363
DOI:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.08.023