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

• Main Authors: Levasseur, Clément, Faure, Florian, van Arkel, Kim, Sciacca, Frédéric, De Alencastro, Luiz Felippe
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Pacific; Indian; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/218565

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