Journal
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
Volume 79, Issue 1-2, Pages 94-99Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.12.035
Keywords
British Columbia; Pacific Ocean; Microplastic; Tsunami debris; Litter; Plastic
Ask authors/readers for more resources
We document the abundance, composition and distribution of microplastics in sub-surface seawaters of the northeastern Pacific Ocean and coastal British Columbia. Samples were acid-digested and plastics were characterized using light microscopy by type (fibres or fragments) and size (<100, 100-500, 500-100 and >1000 mu m). Microplastics concentrations ranged from 8 to 9200 particles/m(3); lowest concentrations were in offshore Pacific waters, and increased 6, 12 and 27-fold in west coast Vancouver Island, Strait of Georgia, and Queen Charlotte Sound, respectively. Fibres accounted for similar to 75% of particles on average, although nearshore samples had more fibre content than offshore (p < 0.05). While elevated microplastic concentrations near urban areas are consistent with land-based sources, the high levels in Queen Charlotte Sound appeared to be the result of oceanographic conditions that trap and concentrate debris. This assessment of microplastics in the NE Pacific is of interest in light of the on-coming debris from the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available