Risks of floating microplastic in the global ocean

• Despite the ubiquitous and persistent presence of microplastic (MP) in marine ecosystems, knowledge of its potential harmful ecological effects is low. In this work, we assessed the risk of floating MP (1 μm–5 mm) to marine ecosystems by comparing ambient concentrations in the global ocean with available ecotoxicity data. The integration of twenty-three species-specific effect threshold concentration data in a species sensitivity distribution yielded a median unacceptable level of 1.21 ∗ 105 MP m−³ (95% CI: 7.99 ∗ 103–1.49 ∗ 106 MP m−³). We found that in 2010 for 0.17% of the surface layer (0–5 m) of the global ocean a threatening risk would occur. By 2050 and 2100, this fraction increases to 0.52% and 1.62%, respectively, according to the worst-case predicted future plastic discharge into the ocean. Our results reveal a spatial and multidecadal variability of MP-related risk at the global ocean surface. For example, we have identified the Mediterranean Sea and the Yellow Sea as hotspots of marine microplastic risks already now and even more pronounced in future decades. © 2020 The Author(s)

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Environmental risk assessment

Marine ecosystems

Microplastic

Multidecadal

Spatial distribution

Ecosystems

Oceanography

Ambient concentrations

Ecological effect

Global ocean surface

Mediterranean sea

Multidecadal variability

Species sensitivity distributions

Species specifics

Threshold concentrations

Risk assessment

concentration (composition)

decadal variation

environmental risk

future prospect

marine ecosystem

marine pollution

plastic waste

spatiotemporal analysis

Pacific Ocean

Yellow Sea

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)