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Contents below:
· General information
· Institutions
~ International organizations
~ NGOs
· Oil pollution
· Marine plastic pollution & “garbage patches”
· Select readings on marine plastic pollution
Subpage: Dead zones, algal blooms & eutrophication
Also see: Plastic pollution
General information
Dangers of plastic pollution to marine life @ bottlestore.com
Ocean Society: 7 Ways To Reduce Ocean Plastic Pollution
Ocean pollution and marine debris @ NOAA
Periodicals
A/V, blogs & podcasts
The NOAA Ocean Podcast: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Institutions
~ International organizations ~
International Maritime Organization (IMO)
Video: How IMO’s MARPOL Convention makes a difference
· Ad hoc open-ended expert group on marine litter and microplastics
· Launched on social media in February 2017 "with the aim of engaging governments, the
general public and the private sector in the fight against marine plastic pollution."
· Global Partnership on Marine Litter
~ Government agencies ~
~ NGOs ~
· Facilitates beach cleanups and offshore cleanups worldwide through the sale of bracelets (one
bracelet pulls one pound of trash from the ocean).
· Hosts the site plastic-pollution.org
Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup
· Get informed of plastic clean ups happening locally, or organize a team and lead a local clean up.
· This organization’s primary goal is to use advanced technology to clean the oceans of trash. They are
committed to a goal of clearing 50% of the Great Pacific trash island in 5 years.
· Through film, global partnerships, and education, this organization is working to empower young entrepreneurs to find solutions to plastic
pollution in the world’s oceans.
~ Industry & private sector ~
Preserve Ocean Plastic Initiative
Oil pollution
Video: Torrey Canyon: The shipwrecked supertanker
Marine plastic pollution & “Garbage patches”
Dive Against Debris @ ProjectAWARE
Great Pacific Garbage Patch @ Ocean Cleanup
Great Pacific Trash Island
International Maritime Organization (IMO)
· “the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping
and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships.”
· Message on home page as of May 2019: "We are closing The Plastic Tide charity in its
existing format. Watch out for the new charity we are creating in the coming weeks,
with a more focused mission on the plastic pollution challenges.”
Plastic Waste Free Islands (PWFI)
Scientific programme 2018-2023 for Plastic in the Arctic
Select readings on marine plastic pollution
· In reverse chronological order
Extent and reproduction of coastal species on plastic debris in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
· 2023 ~ Haram, L.E., Carlton, J.T., Centurioni, L. et al. ~ Nature Ecology & Evolution
· Floating plastic patches, such as the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, are being populated by coastal species
· Plastic patches are creating conditions similar to coastlines, allowing species that usually live on
the coast to populate the center of oceans as well.
Plastic debris forms: Rock analogues emerging from marine pollution
· 2022 ~ Fernanda Avelar Santos, et al. ~ Marine Pollution Bulletin
· Analysis of new geological formation consisting of rock analogs composed of plastics
· Plastic pollution has become so pervasive that it has begun affecting the Earth's geology
Plastic Pollution Solutions: Emerging Technologies to Prevent and Collect Marine Plastic Pollution
· 2020 ~ Emma Schmaltz, et al. ~ Environment International
· “Governments worldwide are increasingly adopting policies,” “nationwide bans,” and technologies that
“focus on plastic pollution leakage prevention,” to find alternate solutions to help stop plastic pollution
Marine microfiber pollution: A review on present status and future challenges
· 2019 ~ Sunanda Mishra, et al. ~ Marine Pollution Bulletin
· Microfibers are small fibers from synthetic textiles
· They present a large pollution issue, with about 2 million tons entering the ocean annually
A Catchment-Scale Perspective of Plastic Pollution
· 2018 ~ Fredric M. Windsor, et al. ~ Global Change Biology
· “We review the transport and effects of plastics across terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments”
as well as looks at how the “diverse processes are responsible for the observed ubiquity of plastic pollution.”
Plastic as a Persistent Marine Pollutant
· 2017 ~ Boris Worm, Heike K. Lotze, Isabelle Jubinville, Chris Wilcox, & Jenna Jambeck ~ Annual Reviews
· “Originally deemed harmless,” the effects of plastic in the marine environment were ignored until currently
recognized as a “major environmental burden.”
· Persistence of plastic continues to prevail as an issue because of their “very high molecular weight.”
Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean
· 2015 ~ Jenna R. Jambeck et al. ~ Science
· Estimates 4.8 to 12.7 million metric tons of plastic waste entered the ocean in 2010
· Largest contributors are countries with poor waste management, like China and Indonesia
· Focuses on the urgent need for better global waste management
Plastic Pollution in the World’s Oceans
· Subtitle: More than 5 Trillion Plastic Pieces Weighing over 250,000 Tons Afloat at Sea
· 2014 ~ Marcus Eriksen et al. ~ PLOS ONE
· Estimates over 5.25 trillion plastic pieces weighing 268,940 tons floating in the world's oceans.
· Study based on data from 24 expeditions (2007-2013) covering all five sub-tropical gyres and other regions.
· Highlights the significant loss of microplastics from the sea surface, suggesting removal mechanisms at
play, such as biodegradation and ingestion by organisms
The Garbage Patch In The Oceans: The Problem and Possible Solutions
· 2011 ~ Marzia Sesini ~ Columbia University Earth Engineering Center
· Garbage patches are “a concentration of marine debris in the ocean” which can cause problems
such as “entanglement of marine fauna, plastic ingestion, transport of species to non-native waters,
and concentration and transport of toxic chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) compounds”
· Discusses multiple solutions including the “4Rs” of reduction, reuse, recycling, and recovery in local
waste management which can help start promoting better behaviors.
Marine pollution
Key informational website