There is a vast difference between the several hundreds of thousands of tons of floating plastic in the ocean and the millions of tons entering annually. By creating models for the path of ocean plastic, it was observed that most river emissions are likely being filtered by coastlines and beaches, with a small fraction going offshore. This small fraction turns out to be relatively old and likely not degrading very quickly – thus, showing persistence. This new understanding highlights the importance of both source reduction and cleanup of legacy ocean plastic.
Solving the Mystery of Missing Ocean Plastic
There is a vast difference between the several hundreds of thousands of tons of floating plastic in the ocean and the millions of tons entering annually. By creating models for the path of ocean plastic, it was observed that most river emissions are likely being filtered by coastlines and beaches, with a small fraction going offshore. This small fraction turns out to be relatively old and likely not degrading very quickly – thus, showing persistence. This new understanding highlights the importance of both source reduction and cleanup of legacy ocean plastic.