Plastics in the Marine Environment

Gregory, Murray R.; Andrady, Anthony L.

doi:10.1002/0471721557.ch10

Cited by 164 publications

(120 citation statements)

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“…Colder temperatures within the deep ocean, associated with a lack of UV light, make plastics on the sea-bed more likely to be preserved (Gregory and Andrady, 2003). In these conditions, they are said to last for 'centuries to millennia' (Gregory and Andrady, 2003), mostly via inference from short-period laboratory studies.…”

Section: Preservation Potential Of Plastics In the Geological Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In these conditions, they are said to last for 'centuries to millennia' (Gregory and Andrady, 2003), mostly via inference from short-period laboratory studies. Over longer timescales, buried within strata, their diagenesis and fossilization potential is a topic of considerable academic interest (although of no analytical study as of yet, as far as we are aware).…”

Section: Preservation Potential Of Plastics In the Geological Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The geological cycle of plastics and their use as a stratigraphic indicator of the Anthropocene

Zalasiewicz

Waters

Sul³

et al. 2016

Anthropocene

701

286

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The rise of plastics since the mid-20 th century, both as a material element of modern life and as a growing environmental pollutant, has been widely described. Its distribution in both the terrestrial and marine realms suggests that it could be a key geological indicator of the Anthropocene, with potential to be a component of future geological strata. Most immediately evident in terrestrial deposits, it is clearly becoming a widespread component of marine sedimentary deposits in both shallow-and deep-water settings. It is abundant and widespread as macroscopic fragments and virtually ubiquitous as microplastic particles; these are dispersed by both physical and biological processes, not least via the food chain and the 'faecal express' route from surface to sea floor. Already a widespread and distinctive lithological component of strata, the amount of plastics seems likely to grow several-fold over the next few decades, and to continue to be input into the sedimentary cycle over coming millennia as temporary stores -landfill sites -are eroded. Plastics already enable fine time resolution within Anthropocene deposits via the development of its different types and via the artefacts ('technofossils') it is moulded into, and many of these may have long-term preservation potential if buried in strata.

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Section: Preservation Potential Of Plastics In the Geological Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Preservation Potential Of Plastics In the Geological Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

The geological cycle of plastics and their use as a stratigraphic indicator of the Anthropocene

Zalasiewicz

Waters

Sul³

et al. 2016

Anthropocene

701

286

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“…Many different definitions of the size scale that constitute 'microplastics' are reported in the research literature (Gregory and Andrady 2003;Betts 2008;Fendall and Sewell 2009). But there is growing consensus for categorizing microplastics as being <1 mm and >1 µm with the larger fragments that include virgin resin pellets being called 'mesoplastics'.…”

Section: Microplastics In the Oceansmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistence of Plastic Litter in the Oceans

Andrady

2015

Marine Anthropogenic Litter

Self Cite

335

274

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The increasing global production and use of plastics has led to an accumulation of enormous amounts of plastic litter in the world's oceans. Characteristics such as low density, good mechanical properties and low cost allow for successful use of plastics in industries and everyday life but the high durability leads to persistence of the synthetic polymers in the marine environment where they cause harm to a great variety of organisms. In the diverse marine habitats, including beaches, the sea surface, the water column, and the seafloor, plastics are exposed to different environmental conditions that either accelerate or decelerate the physical, chemical and biological degradation of plastics. Degradation of plastics occurs primarily through solar UV-radiation induced photo oxidation reactions and is, thus, most intensive in photic environments such as the sea surface and on beaches. The rate of degradation is temperature-dependent resulting in considerable deceleration of the processes in seawater, which is a good heat sink. Below the photic zone in the water column, plastics degrade very slowly resulting in high persistence of plastic litter especially at the seafloor. Biological decomposition of plastics by microorganisms is negligible in the marine environment because the kinetics of biodegradation at sea is particularly slow and oxygen supply for these processes limited. Degradation of larger plastic items leads to the formation of abundant small microplastics. The transport of small particles to the seafloor and their deposition in the benthic environment is facilitated by the colonization of the material by fouling organisms, which increase the density of the particles and force them to sink.

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“…Secondary MPs stem from the degradation and fragmentation of large debris. Thermal, mechanical, and photodegradation are important factors during the fragmentation process [11,12].…”

Section: Types and Shapes Of Microplastics: A Focus On Fibers In Urbamentioning

confidence: 99%

Sources and Fate of Microplastics in Urban Areas: A Focus on Paris Megacity

Dris¹,

Gaspéri²,

Tassin³

2017

The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry

120

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Since the beginning of the 2010s, the number of investigations on microplastics in freshwater increased dramatically. However, almost no study aims at investigating the various sources and fate of microplastics in a catchment. This chapter aims at analyzing the various sources and fate of microplastics for an urban catchment and its hydrosystem (sewage, runoff, etc.). It presents the results obtained during a 3-year study of the Paris Megacity. Such a study required the development of appropriate sampling strategies for each compartment. It was highlighted that fibers are highly concentrated in the studied area, and therefore a focus in this category of microplastics was carried out. The atmospheric fallout exhibited important levels of fibers. However, at the scale of the Parisian agglomeration, wastewater treatment plant disposals and combined sewer overflows represent the major sources (number of fibers introduced per year) among the studied ones.

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Plastics in the Marine Environment

Cited by 164 publications

References 0 publications

The geological cycle of plastics and their use as a stratigraphic indicator of the Anthropocene

The geological cycle of plastics and their use as a stratigraphic indicator of the Anthropocene

Persistence of Plastic Litter in the Oceans

Sources and Fate of Microplastics in Urban Areas: A Focus on Paris Megacity

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