Pelagic distribution of plastic debris (> 500 μm) and marine organisms in the upper layer of the North Atlantic Ocean

At present, the distribution of plastic debris in the ocean water column remains largely unknown. Such information, however, is required to assess the exposure of marine organisms to plastic pollution as well as to calculate the ocean plastic mass balance. Here, we provide water column profiles (0-300 m water depth) of plastic (0.05-5 cm in size) concentration and key planktonic species from the eastern North Atlantic Ocean. The amount of plastic decreases rapidly in the upper few meters, from similar to 1 item/m(3) (similar to 1000 mu g/m(3)) at the sea surface to values of similar to 0.001-0.01 items/m(3) (similar to 0.1-10 mu g/m(3)) at 300 m depth. Ratios of plastic to plankton varied between similar to 10(-5) and 1 plastic particles per individual with highest ratios typically found in the surface waters. We further observed that pelagic ratios were generally higher in the water column below the subtropical gyre compared to those in more coastal ecosystems. Lastly, we show plastic to (non-gelatinous) plankton ratios could be as high as similar to 10(2)-10(7) plastic particles per individual when considering reported concentrations of small microplastics < 100 mu m. Plastic pollution in our oceans may therefore soon exceed estimated safe concentrations for many pelagic species.

Automated summary

This study provides water column profiles of plastic concentration and ratios of plastic to plankton in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean, indicating the potential harm of plastic pollution to marine organisms.