Joint effort among research infrastructures to quantify the impact of plastic debris in the ocean
Marine debris is one of the most significant problems facing the marine environment, endangering wildlife, polluting oceans and is an issue which holds global significance. Plastics constitute a large proportion of marine debris, and their persistence can cause a number of negative consequences for...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2019-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab17ed |
| _version_ | 1797748019371704320 |
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| author | Diarmuid Ó Conchubhair Deirdre Fitzhenry Amy Lusher Andrew L King Tim van Emmerik Laurent Lebreton Constanza Ricaurte-Villota Luisa Espinosa Eleanor O’Rourke |
| author_facet | Diarmuid Ó Conchubhair Deirdre Fitzhenry Amy Lusher Andrew L King Tim van Emmerik Laurent Lebreton Constanza Ricaurte-Villota Luisa Espinosa Eleanor O’Rourke |
| author_sort | Diarmuid Ó Conchubhair |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Marine debris is one of the most significant problems facing the marine environment, endangering wildlife, polluting oceans and is an issue which holds global significance. Plastics constitute a large proportion of marine debris, and their persistence can cause a number of negative consequences for biota and the environment, including entanglement and ingestion, which can lead to mortality. Most plastics never biodegrade and instead break down into smaller pieces which are more difficult to monitor and eventually become so small (micro and nanoplastics), that they are challenging to observe or intercept in the ocean. Marine-based Research Infrastructures (RIs) monitor several environmental parameters and are situated around the globe; however, none of these are routinely monitoring marine debris or plastics. Currently, the only infrastructures in place with regard to marine debris are ‘physical debris interception infrastructure’ in the form of barriers constructed to prevent marine debris from entering the ocean. Several knowledge gaps and restraints exist within current in situ infrastructure including technological immaturity, diverse methodologies and lack of data harmonisation. Nevertheless, marine RIs could monitor microplastics within the water column on a long-term basis and initial steps towards developing technology are promising. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:58:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b57741aaf7ad42be8974f616f3ec38e6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:58:56Z |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-b57741aaf7ad42be8974f616f3ec38e62023-08-09T14:44:03ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262019-01-0114606500110.1088/1748-9326/ab17edJoint effort among research infrastructures to quantify the impact of plastic debris in the oceanDiarmuid Ó Conchubhair0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2239-4736Deirdre Fitzhenry1Amy Lusher2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0539-2974Andrew L King3Tim van Emmerik4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4773-9107Laurent Lebreton5Constanza Ricaurte-Villota6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1554-4994Luisa Espinosa7Eleanor O’Rourke8Marine Institute (MI) IrelandMarine Institute (MI) IrelandNorwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), NorwayNorwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), NorwayThe Ocean Cleanup, The NetherlandsThe Ocean Cleanup, The NetherlandsINVEMAR, ColombiaINVEMAR, ColombiaMarine Institute (MI) IrelandMarine debris is one of the most significant problems facing the marine environment, endangering wildlife, polluting oceans and is an issue which holds global significance. Plastics constitute a large proportion of marine debris, and their persistence can cause a number of negative consequences for biota and the environment, including entanglement and ingestion, which can lead to mortality. Most plastics never biodegrade and instead break down into smaller pieces which are more difficult to monitor and eventually become so small (micro and nanoplastics), that they are challenging to observe or intercept in the ocean. Marine-based Research Infrastructures (RIs) monitor several environmental parameters and are situated around the globe; however, none of these are routinely monitoring marine debris or plastics. Currently, the only infrastructures in place with regard to marine debris are ‘physical debris interception infrastructure’ in the form of barriers constructed to prevent marine debris from entering the ocean. Several knowledge gaps and restraints exist within current in situ infrastructure including technological immaturity, diverse methodologies and lack of data harmonisation. Nevertheless, marine RIs could monitor microplastics within the water column on a long-term basis and initial steps towards developing technology are promising.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab17edoceanmonitoringlitterenvironmentmicroplasticresearch |
| spellingShingle | Diarmuid Ó Conchubhair Deirdre Fitzhenry Amy Lusher Andrew L King Tim van Emmerik Laurent Lebreton Constanza Ricaurte-Villota Luisa Espinosa Eleanor O’Rourke Joint effort among research infrastructures to quantify the impact of plastic debris in the ocean Environmental Research Letters ocean monitoring litter environment microplastic research |
| title | Joint effort among research infrastructures to quantify the impact of plastic debris in the ocean |
| title_full | Joint effort among research infrastructures to quantify the impact of plastic debris in the ocean |
| title_fullStr | Joint effort among research infrastructures to quantify the impact of plastic debris in the ocean |
| title_full_unstemmed | Joint effort among research infrastructures to quantify the impact of plastic debris in the ocean |
| title_short | Joint effort among research infrastructures to quantify the impact of plastic debris in the ocean |
| title_sort | joint effort among research infrastructures to quantify the impact of plastic debris in the ocean |
| topic | ocean monitoring litter environment microplastic research |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab17ed |
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