The presence of microplastics in the marine environment is a serious problem for the environment. Although there is still a lack of research to fully understand the implications it may have for human health, the truth is that we continue to eat, drink and breathe our plastic waste.
Understanding the accumulation of this material in the oceans can provide a critical baseline to help address this form of pollution.
Previous studies have mainly focused on the oceans of the northern hemisphereclose to the most industrialized nations in the world, while others have focused on this problem in short periods of time.
Now, international research has pieced together a global dataset on ocean plastic pollution between 1979 and 2019, revealing an unprecedented and rapid rise of these materials since 2005. The work, published in the journal PLOS ONE, is led by Marcus Eriksende The 5 Gyres Institute (EE UU).
To carry out the research, data on plastic pollution since the late 1970s were analyzed, coming from 11,777 stations in six marine regions: North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, Indian and Mediterranean.
“In the process many different expeditions and researchers participated. At the beginning, the scientists were studying other topics, such as plankton in the oceans, and they ended up collecting plastic samples,” he told SINC Lisa ErdleDirector of Science and Innovation at The 5 Gyres and co-author of the study.
“We were able to collect data—some published, some unpublished—from around the world to reconstruct a time trend. This is a collaborative effort among many scientists, which is exciting,” he adds.
Reasons for growth since 2005
After considering aspects such as wind, site selection and biases due to insufficient sampling, the model used showed a significant and accelerated increase since 2005 in the abundance and distribution of plastics in the surface layer of the ocean.
It is calculated that in In 2019, between 82 and 358 trillion plastic particles floated in the oceans, which would leave an average of 171 trillion plastic particles, mainly microplastics. These would have a weight of between 1.1 and 4.9 million tons (2.3 million tons on average).
Regarding the increase since 2005, it must be taken into account that the relative lack of data between 1979 and 1990 prevented the analysis of trends during that interval, while from 1990 to 2005 the levels of plastics showed fluctuations without a clear trend.
The study authors acknowledge that the results would be biased towards trends in the North Pacific and North Atlantic, since most of the data was collected in those regions. However, they suggest that from 2005 the great growth of the production of plastic or the changes in the generation and management of waste are clearly reflected.
“Several factors have likely contributed to this trend, including the rapid increase in plastics production. There has also been a plastic fragmentation existing in the environment and a bad waste management Worldwide. It is clear that interventions are needed to reverse this trend,” adds the co-author of the study.
Agile and global performance
Without widespread changes, the researchers believe that the rate at which plastics are entering our waters will grow 2.6 times by 2040. “If we extrapolate from the current trend in the increase in microplastics in the oceans, our marine environment may being overwhelmed by plastic if they are not produced rapid political changes“Erdle says.
“Generally, there can be barriers to committing to bold international agreements, but plastics are clearly a global problem and will require a global solution,” he concludes.
For his part, Eriksen, co-founder and researcher of The 5 Gyres Institutecalls for a United Nations World Treaty on plastic pollution and that it be “legally binding to stop the problem at its source.
In this sense, the director of Science and Innovation at The 5 Gyres recalls that, although much remains to be investigated, enough is known for leaders around the world to begin applying measures and to be able to identify “prior interventions that prevent plastics reach the environment.
References
- Eriksen M, et al. “A growing plastic smog, now estimated to be over 170 trillion plastic particles afloat in the world’s oceans—Urgent solutions required”. PLoS ONE.