The Abundance of Microplastics in the World’s Oceans: A Systematic Review
Microplastics are ubiquitous in marine environments and have been documented across all ocean compartments, especially surface waters, across the world. Even though several studies identify the presence of microplastics in the world’s five oceans, there remains an overt problem of large inconsistenc...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-06-01
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| Series: | Oceans |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-1924/5/3/24 |
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| author | Judith Mutuku Maria Yanotti Mark Tocock Darla Hatton MacDonald |
| author_facet | Judith Mutuku Maria Yanotti Mark Tocock Darla Hatton MacDonald |
| author_sort | Judith Mutuku |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Microplastics are ubiquitous in marine environments and have been documented across all ocean compartments, especially surface waters, across the world. Even though several studies identify the presence of microplastics in the world’s five oceans, there remains an overt problem of large inconsistencies in their sampling, extraction, and consequent quantification. Despite the complexity of these methodologies, researchers have tried to explore microplastic abundance in ocean surface waters. Using a systematic review approach, a dataset was derived from 73 primary studies undertaken since the year 2010 following the Oslo and Paris Conventions (OSPAR) guidelines to monitor and harmonise marine debris. The results showed differences in the abundance and distribution of microplastics in surface waters across oceans. The overall concentration of microplastics in all five oceans ranged between 0.002 and 62.50 items/m<sup>3</sup>, with a mean abundance of 2.76 items/m<sup>3</sup>. The highest mean concentration of microplastics was found in the Atlantic (4.98 items/m<sup>3</sup>), while the least was observed in the Southern Ocean (0.04 items/m<sup>3</sup>). While challenging, this paper recommends harmonisation of the sampling, separation, and identification methods across the globe to aid in the design of the appropriate mitigation strategies for reducing marine plastic pollution. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-73438c81a4cb4be7ae9065da2dbbcd3d |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2673-1924 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Oceans |
| spelling | doaj-art-73438c81a4cb4be7ae9065da2dbbcd3d2025-08-20T01:55:45ZengMDPI AGOceans2673-19242024-06-015339842810.3390/oceans5030024The Abundance of Microplastics in the World’s Oceans: A Systematic ReviewJudith Mutuku0Maria Yanotti1Mark Tocock2Darla Hatton MacDonald3Tasmanian School of Business & Economics, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7001, AustraliaTasmanian School of Business & Economics, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7001, AustraliaTasmanian School of Business & Economics, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7001, AustraliaTasmanian School of Business & Economics, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7001, AustraliaMicroplastics are ubiquitous in marine environments and have been documented across all ocean compartments, especially surface waters, across the world. Even though several studies identify the presence of microplastics in the world’s five oceans, there remains an overt problem of large inconsistencies in their sampling, extraction, and consequent quantification. Despite the complexity of these methodologies, researchers have tried to explore microplastic abundance in ocean surface waters. Using a systematic review approach, a dataset was derived from 73 primary studies undertaken since the year 2010 following the Oslo and Paris Conventions (OSPAR) guidelines to monitor and harmonise marine debris. The results showed differences in the abundance and distribution of microplastics in surface waters across oceans. The overall concentration of microplastics in all five oceans ranged between 0.002 and 62.50 items/m<sup>3</sup>, with a mean abundance of 2.76 items/m<sup>3</sup>. The highest mean concentration of microplastics was found in the Atlantic (4.98 items/m<sup>3</sup>), while the least was observed in the Southern Ocean (0.04 items/m<sup>3</sup>). While challenging, this paper recommends harmonisation of the sampling, separation, and identification methods across the globe to aid in the design of the appropriate mitigation strategies for reducing marine plastic pollution.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-1924/5/3/24microplasticsconcentrationmarine environmentmarine litterocean surface watersworld’s oceans |
| spellingShingle | Judith Mutuku Maria Yanotti Mark Tocock Darla Hatton MacDonald The Abundance of Microplastics in the World’s Oceans: A Systematic Review Oceans microplastics concentration marine environment marine litter ocean surface waters world’s oceans |
| title | The Abundance of Microplastics in the World’s Oceans: A Systematic Review |
| title_full | The Abundance of Microplastics in the World’s Oceans: A Systematic Review |
| title_fullStr | The Abundance of Microplastics in the World’s Oceans: A Systematic Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Abundance of Microplastics in the World’s Oceans: A Systematic Review |
| title_short | The Abundance of Microplastics in the World’s Oceans: A Systematic Review |
| title_sort | abundance of microplastics in the world s oceans a systematic review |
| topic | microplastics concentration marine environment marine litter ocean surface waters world’s oceans |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-1924/5/3/24 |
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