Lost at Sea: Where Is All the Plastic?

Thompson et al seek to establish that microscopic plastic fragments and fibers are also widespread in the oceans and have accumulated in the pelagic zone and sedimentary habitats. To quantify the abundance of microplastics, they collected sediment from beaches and from estuarine and subtidal sedimen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2004-05, Vol.304 (5672), p.838-838
Main Authors: Thompson, Richard C., Olsen, Ylva, Mitchell, Richard P., Davis, Anthony, Rowland, Steven J., Anthony W. G. John, McGonigle, Daniel, Russell, Andrea E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Applied sciences
Aquatic habitats
Biodegradation
Biological and medical sciences
Brackish
Brevia
Contaminated sediments
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution
Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics
Environmental impact
Exact sciences and technology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Habitat degradation
Habitat fragmentation
Marine
Marine and brackish environment
Marine debris
Marine ecology
Natural water pollution
Plankton
Plastics
Pollution
Pollution, environment geology
Polymers
Seawaters, estuaries
Sediments
Waste disposal
Water pollution
Water treatment and pollution
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Summary:Thompson et al seek to establish that microscopic plastic fragments and fibers are also widespread in the oceans and have accumulated in the pelagic zone and sedimentary habitats. To quantify the abundance of microplastics, they collected sediment from beaches and from estuarine and subtidal sediments around Plymouth, UK. To assess the extent of contamination, a further 17 beaches were examined, and similar fibers were found, demonstrating that microscopic plastics are common in sedimentary forms. Their findings demonstrate that the broad spatial extent and accumulation of this type of contamination. Given the rapid increase in plastic production, the longevity of plastic, and the disposable nature of plastic items, the contamination is likely to increase, aside from the potential for plastics to adsorb, release, and transport chemicals. However, it remains to be shown whether toxic substances can pass from plastics to the food chain.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1094559