Closing the Mediterranean Marine Floating Plastic Mass Budget: Inverse Modeling of Sources and Sinks

Overview

Journal Environ Sci Technol

Publisher American Chemical Society

Specialty Environmental Health

Date 2020 Aug 28

PMID 32852202

Citations 9

Authors

Mikael L A Kaandorp

Henk A Dijkstra

Erik van Sebille

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Estimates of plastic inputs into the ocean are orders of magnitude larger than what is found in the surface waters. This can be due to discrepancies in the sources of plastic released into the ocean but can also be explained by the fact that it is not well-known what the most dominant sinks of marine plastics are and on what time scales these operate. To get a better understanding on possible sources and sinks, an inverse modeling methodology is presented here for a Lagrangian ocean model, estimating floating plastic quantities in the Mediterranean Sea. Field measurements of plastic concentrations in the Mediterranean are used to inform parametrizations defining various sources of marine plastics and removal of plastic particles because of beaching and sinking. The parameters of the model are found using inverse modeling, by comparison of model results and measurements of floating plastic concentrations. Time scales for the sinks are found, and likely sources of plastics can be ranked in importance. A new mass balance is made for floating plastics in the Mediterranean: for 2015, there is an estimated input of 2100-3400 tonnes, and of plastics released since 2006, about 170-420 tonnes remain afloat in the surface waters, 49-63% ended up on coastlines, and 37-51% have sunk down.

Citing Articles

The effect of reef morphology on coral recruitment at multiple spatial scales.

Carlson R, Crowder L, Martin R, Asner G Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024; 121(4):e2311661121.

PMID: 38190515 PMC: 10823213. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2311661121.

Can a Sediment Core Reveal the Plastic Age? Microplastic Preservation in a Coastal Sedimentary Record.

Simon-Sanchez L, Grelaud M, Lorenz C, Garcia-Orellana J, Vianello A, Liu F Environ Sci Technol. 2022; 56(23):16780-16788.

PMID: 36375087 PMC: 9730841. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c04264.

Influence of Particle Size and Fragmentation on Large-Scale Microplastic Transport in the Mediterranean Sea.

Onink V, Kaandorp M, van Sebille E, Laufkotter C Environ Sci Technol. 2022; 56(22):15528-15540.

PMID: 36270631 PMC: 9671120. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c03363.

Aerial and underwater drones for marine litter monitoring in shallow coastal waters: factors influencing item detection and cost-efficiency.

Escobar-Sanchez G, Markfort G, Berghald M, Ritzenhofen L, Schernewski G Environ Monit Assess. 2022; 194(12):863.

PMID: 36219322 PMC: 9553762. DOI: 10.1007/s10661-022-10519-5.

Plastic pollution of four understudied marine ecosystems: a review of mangroves, seagrass meadows, the Arctic Ocean and the deep seafloor.

Walther B, Bergmann M Emerg Top Life Sci. 2022; 6(4):371-387.

PMID: 36214383 DOI: 10.1042/ETLS20220017.

References

Guven O, Gokdag K, Jovanovic B, Kideys A . Microplastic litter composition of the Turkish territorial waters of the Mediterranean Sea, and its occurrence in the gastrointestinal tract of fish. Environ Pollut. 2017; 223:286-294. DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.01.025. View

Gajst T, Bizjak T, Palatinus A, Liubartseva S, Krzan A . Sea surface microplastics in Slovenian part of the Northern Adriatic. Mar Pollut Bull. 2016; 113(1-2):392-399. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.10.031. View

Suaria G, Avio C, Mineo A, Lattin G, Magaldi M, Belmonte G . The Mediterranean Plastic Soup: synthetic polymers in Mediterranean surface waters. Sci Rep. 2016; 6:37551. PMC: 5120331. DOI: 10.1038/srep37551. View

de Haan W, Sanchez-Vidal A, Canals M . Floating microplastics and aggregate formation in the Western Mediterranean Sea. Mar Pollut Bull. 2019; 140:523-535. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.01.053. View

Woodall L, Sanchez-Vidal A, Canals M, Paterson G, Coppock R, Sleight V . The deep sea is a major sink for microplastic debris. R Soc Open Sci. 2015; 1(4):140317. PMC: 4448771. DOI: 10.1098/rsos.140317. View

Lebreton L, van der Zwet J, Damsteeg J, Slat B, Andrady A, Reisser J . River plastic emissions to the world's oceans. Nat Commun. 2017; 8:15611. PMC: 5467230. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15611. View

Cozar A, Sanz-Martin M, Marti E, Gonzalez-Gordillo J, Ubeda B, Galvez J . Plastic accumulation in the Mediterranean sea. PLoS One. 2015; 10(4):e0121762. PMC: 4382178. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0121762. View

Ruiz-Orejon L, Sarda R, Ramis-Pujol J . Now, you see me: High concentrations of floating plastic debris in the coastal waters of the Balearic Islands (Spain). Mar Pollut Bull. 2018; 133:636-646. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.06.010. View

van Franeker J, Blaize C, Danielsen J, Fairclough K, Gollan J, Guse N . Monitoring plastic ingestion by the northern fulmar Fulmarus glacialis in the North Sea. Environ Pollut. 2011; 159(10):2609-15. DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2011.06.008. View

10.

Song Y, Hong S, Jang M, Han G, Jung S, Shim W . Combined Effects of UV Exposure Duration and Mechanical Abrasion on Microplastic Fragmentation by Polymer Type. Environ Sci Technol. 2017; 51(8):4368-4376. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b06155. View

11.

Kooi M, van Nes E, Scheffer M, Koelmans A . Ups and Downs in the Ocean: Effects of Biofouling on Vertical Transport of Microplastics. Environ Sci Technol. 2017; 51(14):7963-7971. PMC: 6150669. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b04702. View

12.

van der Hal N, Ariel A, Angel D . Exceptionally high abundances of microplastics in the oligotrophic Israeli Mediterranean coastal waters. Mar Pollut Bull. 2017; 116(1-2):151-155. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.12.052. View

13.

Jambeck J, Geyer R, Wilcox C, Siegler T, Perryman M, Andrady A . Marine pollution. Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean. Science. 2015; 347(6223):768-71. DOI: 10.1126/science.1260352. View

14.

Fossi M, Panti C, Guerranti C, Coppola D, Giannetti M, Marsili L . Are baleen whales exposed to the threat of microplastics? A case study of the Mediterranean fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus). Mar Pollut Bull. 2012; 64(11):2374-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.08.013. View

15.

Lobelle D, Cunliffe M . Early microbial biofilm formation on marine plastic debris. Mar Pollut Bull. 2010; 62(1):197-200. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.10.013. View

16.

Neumann D, Callies U, Matthies M . Marine litter ensemble transport simulations in the southern North Sea. Mar Pollut Bull. 2014; 86(1-2):219-228. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.07.016. View

17.

Fazey F, Ryan P . Biofouling on buoyant marine plastics: An experimental study into the effect of size on surface longevity. Environ Pollut. 2016; 210:354-60. DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2016.01.026. View

18.

Lebreton L, Slat B, Ferrari F, Sainte-Rose B, Aitken J, Marthouse R . Evidence that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is rapidly accumulating plastic. Sci Rep. 2018; 8(1):4666. PMC: 5864935. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-22939-w. View

19.

Ruiz-Orejon L, Sarda R, Ramis-Pujol J . Floating plastic debris in the Central and Western Mediterranean Sea. Mar Environ Res. 2016; 120:136-44. DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2016.08.001. View

20.

Karkanorachaki K, Kiparissis S, Kalogerakis G, Yiantzi E, Psillakis E, Kalogerakis N . Plastic pellets, meso- and microplastics on the coastline of Northern Crete: Distribution and organic pollution. Mar Pollut Bull. 2018; 133:578-589. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.06.011. View