Abundance, distribution and characteristics of microplastics in the North and South Atlantic Ocean

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Abundance, distribution and characteristics of microplastics in the North and South Atlantic Ocean. / Andersen, Regitze; Harsaae, Astrid Louise; kellner, Antonia et al.
In: Marine Pollution Bulletin, 01.12.2024.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

HarvardHarvard

Andersen, R, Harsaae, AL, kellner, A, Smyth, A, Rosenkrantz Westermann, TA, Green, M, Vollertsen, J, Syberg, K & Lorenz, C 2024, 'Abundance, distribution and characteristics of microplastics in the North and South Atlantic Ocean', Marine Pollution Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.117217

APA

Andersen, R., Harsaae, A. L., kellner, A., Smyth, A., Rosenkrantz Westermann, T. A., Green, M., Vollertsen, J., Syberg, K., & Lorenz, C. (2024). Abundance, distribution and characteristics of microplastics in the North and South Atlantic Ocean. Marine Pollution Bulletin, Article 117217. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.117217

CBE

Andersen R, Harsaae AL, kellner A, Smyth A, Rosenkrantz Westermann TA, Green M, Vollertsen J, Syberg K, Lorenz C. 2024. Abundance, distribution and characteristics of microplastics in the North and South Atlantic Ocean. Marine Pollution Bulletin. Article 117217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.117217

MLA

VancouverVancouver

Andersen R, Harsaae AL, kellner A, Smyth A, Rosenkrantz Westermann TA, Green M et al. Abundance, distribution and characteristics of microplastics in the North and South Atlantic Ocean. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 2024 Dec 1;117217. Epub 2024 Nov 9. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.117217

Author

Andersen, Regitze ; Harsaae, Astrid Louise ; kellner, Antonia et al. / Abundance, distribution and characteristics of microplastics in the North and South Atlantic Ocean. In: Marine Pollution Bulletin. 2024.

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Abundance, distribution and characteristics of microplastics in the North and South Atlantic Ocean

AU - Andersen, Regitze

AU - Harsaae, Astrid Louise

AU - kellner, Antonia

AU - Smyth, Abi

AU - Rosenkrantz Westermann, Tia Amalie

AU - Green, Mattias

AU - Vollertsen, Jes

AU - Syberg, Kristian

AU - Lorenz, Claudia

PY - 2024/11/9

Y1 - 2024/11/9

N2 - Microplastics are both pervasive in the marine environment and highly detrimental to it. In this study, we investigate the abundance, distribution, and characteristics of microplastics in surface waters on a transect spanning 6 major ocean current regions in the Atlantic Ocean from Scheveningen (the Netherlands) to Montevideo (Uruguay). 50 surface trawls were completed with a manta net (mesh 500 µm, cod 333 µm) and particles were analyzed in the laboratory including polymer type identification with ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. An overall abundance of 0.011 items/m³ was found with no significant difference between microplastic abundance and distance to coast. The dominant polymer types were HD-PE (63.5 %) and PP (28.3 %), shape was fragments (88.6 %), and color was white (59.1 %). We conclude that this study's findings reaffirm the widespread presence of microplastic pollution in the Atlantic Ocean, contributing data from consistently under-sampled regions such as the South Atlantic.

AB - Microplastics are both pervasive in the marine environment and highly detrimental to it. In this study, we investigate the abundance, distribution, and characteristics of microplastics in surface waters on a transect spanning 6 major ocean current regions in the Atlantic Ocean from Scheveningen (the Netherlands) to Montevideo (Uruguay). 50 surface trawls were completed with a manta net (mesh 500 µm, cod 333 µm) and particles were analyzed in the laboratory including polymer type identification with ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. An overall abundance of 0.011 items/m³ was found with no significant difference between microplastic abundance and distance to coast. The dominant polymer types were HD-PE (63.5 %) and PP (28.3 %), shape was fragments (88.6 %), and color was white (59.1 %). We conclude that this study's findings reaffirm the widespread presence of microplastic pollution in the Atlantic Ocean, contributing data from consistently under-sampled regions such as the South Atlantic.

U2 - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.117217

DO - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.117217

M3 - Article

JO - Marine Pollution Bulletin

JF - Marine Pollution Bulletin

SN - 0025-326X

M1 - 117217

ER -