Detailed physico-chemical characterization of microplastics from North Atlantic Gyre

More than 260 million tonnes of plastic are used each year. Based on population density and economic status of costal countries the mass of land based plastic waste entering the ocean was recently estimated between 4.8 to 12.7 million metric tons per year¹. Most striking is the estimation for 2025 that this amount will increase by an order of magnitude if waste management infrastructures are not improved.

Plastic debris is abundant and widespread in the marine habitat. Marine plastic pollution has been recently recognized as a global environmental threat². There is still a need for detailed research in terms of estimating the global scale of plastic inputs, their fate in the environment as well as the biological responses to plastic exposure in a variety of marine organisms.

 In this context, the present study aimed at giving a detailed physico-chemical characterization of the microplastics collected at the surface of the North Atlantic accumulation zone. A detailed description of the plastics is given in terms of size, width, density and weight together with a microscopic and infrared spectroscopy characterization. In this study, also we introduce a new fragmentation mechanism of the microplastics based on the physico-chemical data collected. This approach will be helpful for oceanographic modelling. The results will be also very useful to better understand the biological response to the plastic in terms of transfer of chemical in case of ingestion or to better understand the formation and development of the plastisphere.

1 Jambeck, J. R.; Geyer, R.; Wilcox, C.; Siegler, T. R.; Perryman, M.; Andrady, A.; Narayan, R.; Lavender Law, K., Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean

2 Moore, C. J., Synthetic polymers in the marine environment: A rapidly increasing, long-term threat. Environmental Research 2008, 108, (2), 131-139.