Global Garbage Newsletter for September 15, 2014 Marine litter (marine debris) and plastic pollution *** Amy L. Lusher, Ann Burke, Ian O’Connor, Rick Officer, Microplastic pollution in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean: Validated and opportunistic sampling, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Available online 12 September 2014, ISSN 0025-326X, dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.08.023. (sciencedirect/science/article/pii/S0025326X14005530) Abstract: 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 5 mm 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. Keywords: Plastic; Fibres; Sub-surface; Neuston; Continuous monitoring Note to users: Corrected proofs are Articles in Press that contain the authors corrections. Final citation details, e.g., volume and/or issue number, publication year and page numbers, still need to be added and the text might change before final publication. Although corrected proofs do not have all bibliographic details available yet, they can already be cited using the year of online publication and the DOI , as follows: author(s), article title, Publication (year), DOI. Please consult the journals reference style for the exact appearance of these elements, abbreviation of journal names and use of punctuation. When the final article is assigned to an volumes/issues of the Publication, the Article in Press version will be removed and the final version will appear in the associated published volumes/issues of the Publication. The date the article was first made available online will be carried over. *** Viola Fischer, Nikolaus O. Elsner, Nils Brenke, Enrico Schwabe, Angelika Brandt, Plastic pollution of the Kuril-Kamchatka-trench area (NW pacific), Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, Available online 4 September 2014, ISSN 0967-0645, dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2014.08.012. (sciencedirect/science/article/pii/S0967064514002173) Abstract: During the German-Russian expedition KuramBio (Kuril-Kamchatka Biodiversity Studies) to the northwest Pacific Kuril-Kamchatka-Trench and its adjacent abyssal plain, we found several kinds and sizes of plastic debris ranging from fishing nets and packaging to microplastic in the sediment of the deep-sea floor. Microplastics were ubiquitous in the smaller fractions of the box corer samples from every station from depths between 4,869 and 5,766 m. They were found on the abyssal plain and in the sediments of the trench slope on both sides. The amount of microplastics differed between the stations, with lowest concentration of 60 pieces per m2 and highest concentrations of more than 2000 pieces per m2. Around 75% of the microplastics (defined here as particles
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 15:18:10 +0000
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