Pelagic distribution of plastic debris (> 500 µm) and marine organisms in the upper layer of the North Atlantic Ocean.

ABSTRACT: At present, the distribution of plastic debris in the ocean water column remains largely unknown. Such information, however, is required to assess the exposure of marine organisms to plastic pollution as well as to calculate the ocean plastic mass balance. Here, we provide water column profiles (0-300 m water depth) of plastic (0.05-5 cm in size) concentration and key planktonic species from the eastern North Atlantic Ocean. The amount of plastic decreases rapidly in the upper few meters, from ~ 1 item/m³ (~ 1000 µg/m³) at the sea surface to values of ~ 0.001-0.01 items/m³ (~ 0.1-10 µg/m³) at 300 m depth. Ratios of plastic to plankton varied between ~ 10^-5 and 1 plastic particles per individual with highest ratios typically found in th

SUBMITTER: Egger M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9372048 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature