Movatterモバイル変換

[0]ホーム
URL:

Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
Thehttps:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

NIH NLM Logo
Log inShow account info
Access keysNCBI HomepageMyNCBI HomepageMain ContentMain Navigation
pubmed logo
Advanced Clipboard
User Guide

Full text links

Public Library of Science full text link Public Library of Science Free PMC article
Full text links

Actions

.2014 Dec 10;9(12):e111913.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0111913. eCollection 2014.

Plastic Pollution in the World's Oceans: More than 5 Trillion Plastic Pieces Weighing over 250,000 Tons Afloat at Sea

Affiliations

Plastic Pollution in the World's Oceans: More than 5 Trillion Plastic Pieces Weighing over 250,000 Tons Afloat at Sea

Marcus Eriksen et al. PLoS One..

Abstract

Plastic pollution is ubiquitous throughout the marine environment, yet estimates of the global abundance and weight of floating plastics have lacked data, particularly from the Southern Hemisphere and remote regions. Here we report an estimate of the total number of plastic particles and their weight floating in the world's oceans from 24 expeditions (2007-2013) across all five sub-tropical gyres, costal Australia, Bay of Bengal and the Mediterranean Sea conducting surface net tows (N = 680) and visual survey transects of large plastic debris (N = 891). Using an oceanographic model of floating debris dispersal calibrated by our data, and correcting for wind-driven vertical mixing, we estimate a minimum of 5.25 trillion particles weighing 268,940 tons. When comparing between four size classes, two microplastic <4.75 mm and meso- and macroplastic >4.75 mm, a tremendous loss of microplastics is observed from the sea surface compared to expected rates of fragmentation, suggesting there are mechanisms at play that remove <4.75 mm plastic particles from the ocean surface.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests:Jose Borerro is affiliated wih eCoast Ltd., and this affiliation does not alter the authors' adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. Laurent C. M. Lebreton is affiliated with Dumpark Creative Industries Ltd., and this affiliation does not alter the authors' adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Field locations where count density was measured.
Count density (pieces km−2; see colorbar) of marine plastic debris measured at 1571 stations from 680 net tows and 891 visual survey transects for each of four plastic size classes (0.33–1.00 mm, 1.01–4.75 mm, 4.76–200 mm, and >200 mm).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Model results for global count density in four size classes.
Model prediction of global count density (pieces km−2; see colorbar) for each of four size classes (0.33–1.00 mm, 1.01–4.75 mm, 4.76–200 mm, and >200 mm).
Figure 3
Figure 3. Model results for global weight density in four size classes.
Model prediction of global weight density (g km−2; see colorbar) for each of four size classes (0.33–1.00 mm, 1.01–4.75 mm, 4.76–200 mm, and >200 mm). The majority of global weight is from the largest size class.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Teuten E, Rowland S, Galloway T, Thompson R (2007) Potential for plastics to transport hydrophobic contaminants. Environ Sci Technol 41:7759–7764. - PubMed
    1. Mato Y, Isobe T, Takada H, Kanehiro H, Ohtake C, et al. (2001) Plastic resin pellets as a transport medium for toxic chemicals in the marine environment. Environ Sci Technol 35:318–324. - PubMed
    1. Rochman C, Browne M, Halpern B, Hentschel B, Hoh E, et al. (2013) Classify plastic waste as hazardous. Nature 494:169–171. - PubMed
    1. Barnes D, Galgani F, Thompson R, Barlaz M (2009) Accumulation and fragmentation of plastic debris in global environments. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 364:1985–1998. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Barnes D, Walters A, Goncalves L (2010) Macroplastics at sea around Antarctica. Mar Environ Res 70:250–252. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Associated data

LinkOut - more resources

Full text links
Public Library of Science full text link Public Library of Science Free PMC article
Cite
Send To

NCBI Literature Resources

MeSHPMCBookshelfDisclaimer

The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Unauthorized use of these marks is strictly prohibited.

[8]ページ先頭
©2009-2025 Movatter.jp