title: Plastic debris in the open ocean.
abstract: There is a rising concern regarding the accumulation of floating plastic debris in the open ocean. However, the magnitude and the fate of this pollution are still open questions. Using data from the Malaspina 2010 circumnavigation, regional surveys, and previously published reports, we show a worldwide distribution of plastic on the surface of the open ocean, mostly accumulating in the convergence zones of each of the five subtropical gyres with comparable density. However, the global load of plastic on the open ocean surface was estimated to be on the order of tens of thousands of tons, far less than expected. Our observations of the size distribution of floating plastic debris point at important size-selective sinks removing millimeter-sized fragments of floating plastic on a large scale. This sink may involve a combination of fast nano-fragmentation of the microplastic into particles of microns or smaller, their transference to the ocean interior by food webs and ballasting processes, and processes yet to be discovered. Resolving the fate of the missing plastic debris is of fundamental importance to determine the nature and significance of the impacts of plastic pollution in the ocean.
authors: Área de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Ambientales, Universidad de Cádiz, Campus de Excelencia Internacional del Mar, E-11510 Puerto Real, Spain; andres.cozar@uca.es.
authors: Andrés
authors: A
authors: Cózar
authors: Área de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Ambientales, Universidad de Cádiz, Campus de Excelencia Internacional del Mar, E-11510 Puerto Real, Spain;
authors: Fidel
authors: F
authors: Echevarría
authors: Área de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Ambientales, Universidad de Cádiz, Campus de Excelencia Internacional del Mar, E-11510 Puerto Real, Spain;
authors: J Ignacio
authors: JI
authors: González-Gordillo
authors: Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;AZTI, Arrantza eta Elikaigintzarako Institutu Teknologikoa, 20110 Pasaia, Spain;
authors: Xabier
authors: X
authors: Irigoien
authors: Área de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Ambientales, Universidad de Cádiz, Campus de Excelencia Internacional del Mar, E-11510 Puerto Real, Spain;
authors: Bárbara
authors: B
authors: Ubeda
authors: Instituto de Oceanografía y Cambio Global, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Campus Universitario de Tafira, 35017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain;
authors: Santiago
authors: S
authors: Hernández-León
authors: Fisioaqua, Las Condes, 6513677 Santiago, Chile;
authors: Alvaro T
authors: AT
authors: Palma
authors: Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Barcelona, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain;
authors: Sandra
authors: S
authors: Navarro
authors: Área de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Ambientales, Universidad de Cádiz, Campus de Excelencia Internacional del Mar, E-11510 Puerto Real, Spain;
authors: Juan
authors: J
authors: García-de-Lomas
authors: Pakea Bizkaia, 48990 Getxo, Spain;
authors: Andrea
authors: A
authors: Ruiz
authors: Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares, 07015 Palma de Mallorca, Spain;
authors: María L
authors: ML
authors: Fernández-de-Puelles
authors: Department of Global Change Research, Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados (Universidad de las Islas Baleares-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), 07190 Esporles, Spain;The University of Western Australia Oceans Institute andSchool of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia; andFaculty of Marine Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors: Carlos M
authors: CM
authors: Duarte
mesh_terms: D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010969:Plastics / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics; D014873:Water Pollutants