Types and concentration of microplastics found on remote island beaches during the Race for Water Odyssey

Initiated in 2015 by the Race for Water Foundation, the Race for Water Odyssey is an environmental expedition which sailed across Atlantic, Pacific & Indian Oceans. It has 3 main goals: i) analyse plastic pollution on beaches of remote islands; ii) raise awareness about water plastic pollution; iii) identify solutions to prevent waste from ending in the ocean. Results: High inter-archipelago and inter-beaches variability of micro-plastic concentrations for this worldwide study The North and South Pacific Gyres are the most polluted areas, followed by the North Atlantic Gyre and the Indian Ocean Gyre. Data for the South Atlantic Gyre will come later Hard fragments in large proportion in every stopover, probably mostly due to the degradation of larger plastic debris Pellets also are of great concern, as they were found in every beach, except for Palau  Higher polyethylene proportion for hard fragments (1-5 mm), with significant local variations

Race For Water Odyssey: Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of Marine Plastic Debris Collected on Shorelines

Luiz Felippe De Alencastro, Florian Faure, Clément Levasseur, Frédéric Sciacca

With the help of the local people we met during the course of the 2015 Odyssey, the main objective, obtaining a collection of comparable data about marine plastic pollution using the NOAA internationally recognized protocol, has been achieved. It cannot be sufficiently stressed that not one of the 30 sampled shorelines during this worldwide journey was free from marine plastic debris. As for the recent identification of plastic debris in the Arctic and Antarctic areas, this observation confirms that plastic contamination in the oceans is ubiquitous. Whether in terms of macrodebris (>2.5 cm) or microplastics (< 5 mm) concentrations, Hawaii constitutes by far the 2015 Odyssey’s most notable hotspot. The highest macrodebris concentration registered at Kamilo Point in Hawaii (more than 3,500 macrodebris per 100 m2) was almost ten times greater than the second hotspot of the 2015 Odyssey, Pago Bay (372) on Guam Island in the Mariana Archipelago. Hawaii also constitutes the highest microplastics concentration hotspot with more than 94,000 particles per m2 collected once again at Kamilo Point again. For comparison, the second highest concentration, Ovahe beach on Easter Island, revealed more than 24,000 microparticles per m2. Unfortunately, based on their locations, marine macrodebris concentrations can suffer bias due to direct waste disposal (intentional or accidental) of tourists and/or local residents, and also because of the consecutive shoreline clean-up campaigns. Therefore, microplastic concentrations are a more reliable indicator to establish a comparison between study sites. On that basis, Northeast Pacific islands – especially the Hawaiian Archipelago – experience the most significant marine debris accumulation, followed by those of the South Pacific, Northeast Atlantic, Indian, Northwest Atlantic, Northeast Pacific and South Atlantic Oceans respectively. The macrodebris and microplastic average concentrations are summarized below in Figure 1. In qualitative terms, the hard plastic fragments category largely dominates the macroplastics content except for Palau and Chagos (BIOT). Other dominant categories are plastic foams, bottles and caps, and fishing lines and ropes. Foams were particularly predominant in Chagos, while bottles and caps constituted almost 70% of macrodebris in Palau. Besides, significantly higher bottle and cap concentrations were evidenced near the Asian continent. Fishing lines and ropes stood out particularly in Bermuda. Microplastic concentrations confirmed these trends with more than 80% of hard plastic fragments on every stopover, except Easter Island and Tristan da Cunha (around 60%). More specifically, Easter Island showed a significant concentration of pellets, while Bermuda confirmed a strong presence of fishing lines among the microparticles. Lastly, the polymer analysis of the hard plastic fragments ranging from 1 mm to 2.5 cm revealed the prevalence of polyethylene (PE) throughout all of the study sites, except for Tristan da Cunha where polypropylene (PP) dominated. Hawaii, Mariana, Palau and Mascarene also showed significant PP concentrations (between 31 to 47% of items). Other kinds of polymer such as EVA and PMP, have been evidenced especially on Tristan da Cunha, but also on the Azores and Mariana.

Race for Water Foundation2016

An evaluation of surface micro and meso plastic pollution in pelagic ecosystems of western Mediterranean Sea

Luiz Felippe De Alencastro, Florian Faure, Pascal Hagmann

In the 90’s, the discovery of high concentrations of plastic debris in the oceans generated interest and concern of general public as well as scientific community. Since, the accumulation of plastic debris in the North Pacific and North Atlantic gyres has been widely reported. Surprisingly, only few quantitative studies exist concerning the Mediterranean Sea. The purpose of this study was to examine the distribution, abundance and characteristics of surface micro (size 0.33 – 5.0 mm) and meso (size 5.0 – 50 mm) plastic debris, as compared to the abundance of organic material, in the western Mediterranean Sea. 41 samples have been collected during 2 cruises in September 2011 and August 2012 in regions distributed between positions 38-44°N and 001-010°E (Gulf of Lion, Eastern Spanish coast, Balearic Islands, Sardinia, Corsica). Sample collection was performed using a surface net tow of 330 μm mesh size. Samples were sieved to separate particles smaller than 5 mm from larger ones; plastic pieces were extracted from the plankton and organic matter, and sorted in 6 categories: fragments, pellets, thin films, foams, lines and others (tar, etc.). Each were counted and weighted, as was the organic matter once dried. The concentrations of micro-plastic debris were measured in term of particles number and particles mass per surface unit. The average values of 130’000 parts/km2 and 58’000 mg/km2, respectively were measured, with highest concentrations reaching values superior to 420’000 parts/km2 and 140’000 mg/km2. A qualitative analysis mainly revealed the presence of fragments (77% in mass), but also thin films (13%), foams (7%), pellets (2%) and lines (2%). The average ratio of micro-plastic mass to dry organic material mass has been measured at 1.04. A fraction of the samples was collected in low wind conditions (u10 < 4 m/s), while the other part was collected under medium wind conditions (4 ≤ u10 ≤ 11 m/s). As the vertical distribution of micro-plastic is known to be highly sensitive to wind stress, the values have been corrected and re-interpreted using the methodology proposed by Kukulka & al. 2012. The resulting corrected values suggest that the employed sampling process underestimated the surface micro-plastic concentration by an average factor of 1.55. The average concentrations of meso-plastic debris reached the number of 5’500 parts/km2 and the mass of 120’000 mg/km2, mostly fragments (57%) and thin films (34%). The results revealed that (1) plastic marine debris are widely distributed in western Mediterranean sea, (2) plastic debris concentrations in the Mediterranean Sea are of the same order of magnitude than those measured in the North Atlantic or North Pacific subtropical gyres and (3) plastic debris concentrations are about the same order of magnitude than dry organic material, arguing in favor of the hypothesis of potential misinterpretation and ingestion of these particles by plankton feeders in the sea. Kukulka T, Proskurowski G, Moret-Ferguson S, Meyer D, Lavender Law K, 2012. Geophysical Research Letters, vol 39.

2013

An evaluation of surface micro and meso plastic pollution in pelagic ecosystems of western Mediterranean Sea

Luiz Felippe De Alencastro, Florian Faure, Pascal Hagmann

2013

Race For Water Odyssey: Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of Marine Plastic Debris Collected on Shorelines

Luiz Felippe De Alencastro, Florian Faure, Clément Levasseur, Frédéric Sciacca

Race for Water Foundation2016