Assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the South Pacific
Plastics are an environmental threat; however, their fate once in the pelagic environment is poorly known. We compare results from assessments of floating plastics in the South Pacific Ocean with accumulated beach plastics from Henderson Island. We also compare accumulated plastic mass on Henderson...
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ftuhipublicatio:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/0773a351-c1a9-4508-99d9-c5ee5c5ffcee 2024-09-15T18:10:51+00:00 Assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the South Pacific Nichols, Emma C. Lavers, Jennifer L. Archer-Rand, Simeon Bond, Alexander L. 2021-06 https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/0773a351-c1a9-4508-99d9-c5ee5c5ffcee https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112366 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85101856547&partnerID=8YFLogxK http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85101856547&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/0773a351-c1a9-4508-99d9-c5ee5c5ffcee info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Nichols , E C , Lavers , J L , Archer-Rand , S & Bond , A L 2021 , ' Assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the South Pacific ' , Marine Pollution Bulletin , vol. 167 , 112366 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112366 Anthropogenic debris Henderson Island Marine debris Microplastic Nanoparticle Plastic pollution article 2021 ftuhipublicatio https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112366 2024-06-24T23:48:36Z Plastics are an environmental threat; however, their fate once in the pelagic environment is poorly known. We compare results from assessments of floating plastics in the South Pacific Ocean with accumulated beach plastics from Henderson Island. We also compare accumulated plastic mass on Henderson during 2015 and 2019 and investigate the presence of nanoplastics. There were differences between the size classes of beach and pelagic plastics, and an increase in microplastics (0.33–5 mm) on the beach between 2015 and 2019. Micro- and nanoplastics were found at all sites (mean ± SE: 1960 ± 356 pieces/kg dw). Across the whole beach this translates to >4 billion plastic particles in the upper 5 cm. This is concerning, particularly given Henderson is uninhabited and distant from urban centres (~2350 km from Pape'ete, French Polynesia). The vast number of small particles on Henderson may make nearshore filter feeders susceptible to ingestion and subsequent detrimental impacts. Article in Journal/Newspaper Henderson Island University of the Highlands and Islands: Research Database of UHI Marine Pollution Bulletin 167 112366 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of the Highlands and Islands: Research Database of UHI |
op_collection_id |
ftuhipublicatio |
language |
English |
topic |
Anthropogenic debris Henderson Island Marine debris Microplastic Nanoparticle Plastic pollution |
spellingShingle |
Anthropogenic debris Henderson Island Marine debris Microplastic Nanoparticle Plastic pollution Nichols, Emma C. Lavers, Jennifer L. Archer-Rand, Simeon Bond, Alexander L. Assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the South Pacific |
topic_facet |
Anthropogenic debris Henderson Island Marine debris Microplastic Nanoparticle Plastic pollution |
description |
Plastics are an environmental threat; however, their fate once in the pelagic environment is poorly known. We compare results from assessments of floating plastics in the South Pacific Ocean with accumulated beach plastics from Henderson Island. We also compare accumulated plastic mass on Henderson during 2015 and 2019 and investigate the presence of nanoplastics. There were differences between the size classes of beach and pelagic plastics, and an increase in microplastics (0.33–5 mm) on the beach between 2015 and 2019. Micro- and nanoplastics were found at all sites (mean ± SE: 1960 ± 356 pieces/kg dw). Across the whole beach this translates to >4 billion plastic particles in the upper 5 cm. This is concerning, particularly given Henderson is uninhabited and distant from urban centres (~2350 km from Pape'ete, French Polynesia). The vast number of small particles on Henderson may make nearshore filter feeders susceptible to ingestion and subsequent detrimental impacts. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Nichols, Emma C. Lavers, Jennifer L. Archer-Rand, Simeon Bond, Alexander L. |
author_facet |
Nichols, Emma C. Lavers, Jennifer L. Archer-Rand, Simeon Bond, Alexander L. |
author_sort |
Nichols, Emma C. |
title |
Assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the South Pacific |
title_short |
Assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the South Pacific |
title_full |
Assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the South Pacific |
title_fullStr |
Assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the South Pacific |
title_full_unstemmed |
Assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the South Pacific |
title_sort |
assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the south pacific |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/0773a351-c1a9-4508-99d9-c5ee5c5ffcee https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112366 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85101856547&partnerID=8YFLogxK http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85101856547&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
genre |
Henderson Island |
genre_facet |
Henderson Island |
op_source |
Nichols , E C , Lavers , J L , Archer-Rand , S & Bond , A L 2021 , ' Assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the South Pacific ' , Marine Pollution Bulletin , vol. 167 , 112366 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112366 |
op_relation |
https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/0773a351-c1a9-4508-99d9-c5ee5c5ffcee |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112366 |
container_title |
Marine Pollution Bulletin |
container_volume |
167 |
container_start_page |
112366 |
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1810448429910851584 |