RT journal article
T1 Plastic debris in the open ocean
A1 Cózar Cabañas, Andrés
A1 Echevarría Navas, Fidel María
A1 González Gordillo, Juan Ignacio
A1 Irigoien, Xabier
A1 Úbeda, Bárbara
A1 Hernández León, Santiago
A1 Palma, Álvaro T.
A1 Navarro, Sandra
A1 García de Lomas, Juan
A1 Ruiz, Andrea
A1 Fernández de Puelles, María L.
A1 Duarte, Carlos M.
A2 Biología
K1 Plankton
K1 Neuston
K1 Plastic debris
K1 size spectra
AB There is a rising concern regarding the accumulation of floatingplastic debris in the open ocean. However, the magnitude and thefate of this pollution are still open questions. Using data from theMalaspina 2010 circumnavigation, regional surveys, and previouslypublished reports, we show a worldwide distribution of plasticon the surface of the open ocean, mostly accumulating in theconvergence zones of each of the five subtropical gyres withcomparable density. However, the global load of plastic on theopen ocean surface was estimated to be on the order of tens ofthousands of tons, far less than expected. Our observations ofthe size distribution of floating plastic debris point at importantsize-selective sinks removing millimeter-sized fragments of floatingplastic on a large scale. This sink may involve a combination of fastnano-fragmentation of the microplastic into particles of microns orsmaller, their transference to the ocean interior by food webs andballasting processes, and processes yet to be discovered. Resolvingthe fate of the missing plastic debris is of fundamental importance todetermine the nature and significance of the impacts of plasticpollution in the ocean.
YR 2014
FD 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/16690
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/16690
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 24-may-2026