Accumulation and fragmentation of plastic debris in global environments
Accumulation and fragmentation of plastic debris in global environments
复制标题
DOI：
10.1098/rstb.2008.0205
复制
发表时间：
2009-07-27
影响因子：
6.3
通讯作者：
Barlaz, Morton
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Barnes, David K. A.;Galgani, Francois;Barlaz, Morton
最近地球表面最普遍和持久的变化之一是塑料的积累和破碎。自20世纪50年代开始大规模生产塑料产品以来，在短短几十年内，塑料碎片已经在陆地环境中积累，在公海中，甚至在最偏远岛屿的海岸线上和深海中。每年花费数百万英镑的清理行动现在在许多国家和各大洲都有组织。在这里，我们记录了全球塑料生产和塑料废物的积累。虽然塑料通常约占废弃物的10%，但在海岸线上堆积的碎片中，塑料所占的比例要大得多，巨型和巨型塑料在北方半球城市中心附近、封闭海域和水域汇合处（锋面）堆积密度最高。我们报告了偏远岛屿海岸、大陆架海底的密度较低，深海和南大洋的密度最低（但仍有记录存在）。塑料的寿命估计为数百至数千年，但在深海和非表面极地环境中可能更长。塑料碎片通过窒息和饥饿野生动物，传播非本地和潜在有害的生物，吸收有毒化学品和降解为随后可能被摄入的微塑料，构成相当大的威胁。对海岸和海洋的年度调查表明，巨型和宏观塑料累积率的趋势不再均匀增加：相当稳定，增加和减少的趋势都有报道。环境中塑料颗粒的平均尺寸似乎正在减小，而在过去几十年中，微塑料碎片的丰度和全球分布有所增加。然而，人们对这种微小碎片的环境后果仍然知之甚少。
One of the most ubiquitous and long-lasting recent changes to the surface of our planet is the accumulation and fragmentation of plastics. Within just a few decades since mass production of plastic products commenced in the 1950s, plastic debris has accumulated in terrestrial environments, in the open ocean, on shorelines of even the most remote islands and in the deep sea. Annual clean-up operations, costing millions of pounds sterling, are now organized in many countries and on every continent. Here we document global plastics production and the accumulation of plastic waste. While plastics typically constitute approximately 10 per cent of discarded waste, they represent a much greater proportion of the debris accumulating on shorelines.Mega- and macro-plastics have accumulated in the highest densities in the Northern Hemisphere, adjacent to urban centres, in enclosed seas and at water convergences ( fronts). We report lower densities on remote island shores, on the continental shelf seabed and the lowest densities (but still a documented presence) in the deep sea and Southern Ocean. The longevity of plastic is estimated to be hundreds to thousands of years, but is likely to be far longer in deep sea and non-surface polar environments. Plastic debris poses considerable threat by choking and starving wildlife, distributing non-native and potentially harmful organisms, absorbing toxic chemicals and degrading to micro-plastics that may subsequently be ingested. Well-established annual surveys on coasts and at sea have shown that trends in mega- and macro-plastic accumulation rates are no longer uniformly increasing: rather stable, increasing and decreasing trends have all been reported. The average size of plastic particles in the environment seems to be decreasing, and the abundance and global distribution of micro-plastic fragments have increased over the last few decades. However, the environmental consequences of such microscopic debris are still poorly understood.