Plastics Flashcards
What are some near term solutions for plastic mitigation?
improve waste management infrastructure
What are some long term solutions for plastic mitigation?
Reduce waste, limit the source, educate, and pursue policy initiatives
What are the ecological implications of plastics?
entanglement, substrate (fouling, bacteria, etc), ingestion and biomagnification, associated with other contaminants (PCBs, heavy metals, etc), speed up OA by releasing CO2 as polymer degradation occurs due to abiotic and biotic factors
How much plastics are in the surface waters?
6,350-245,000 metric tons
How much plastics are in the pelagic zone?
~90 million tonnes
How much plastics are in the continental slope?
502 particles/kg of sediment
How much plastics are in the submarine canyons?
784 particles/kg of sediment
How much plastics are in the submarine fans and continental rise?
714 particles/kg of sediment
How much plastics are in the abyssal plains?
217 particles/kg of sediment
How much plastics are in the trenches and troughs?
2,782 particles/kg of sediment
How much plastics are in the other oceanic features?
165 particles/kg of sediment
What is the estimate for ‘safe’ microplastic levels?
540 particles/kg of sediment
How much plastic enters the ocean annually?
11 million metric tons
What are some important properties of plastic?
buoyant in seawater, difficult to break apart, resists biodegradation, and ‘disposable’
How do plastics degrade?
- small plastic particles decompose faster (high surface to volume ratio)
- UV radiation or thermal processes (photo-oxidation)
- hydrolysis
- enzymes (biodegradation)
How do we quantify plastic marine debris?
measure the input and measure the amount in the ocean
What are the main sources of plastic input?
By land: beaches, rivers, waterways, drainage outflows, runoff, winds, and catastrophic events
By sea: dumping, lost cargo, fishing, aquaculture activities, recreational activities, and oceanographic research
