Report traces surge in ocean plastic studies

doi:10.1126/science.372.6548.1249

GSTDTAP > 气候变化

DOI	10.1126/science.372.6548.1249
	Report traces surge in ocean plastic studies
	Tania Rabesandratana
	2021-06-18
发表期刊	Science
出版年	2021
英文摘要	Plastic winds up everywhere—from the top of Mount Everest to remote Antarctica. Every year, millions of tons of discarded plastic also wash into the ocean. Research about ocean plastic is swelling, too, from 46 papers in 2011 to 853 in 2019, according to a UNESCO science report published last week. The report found that ocean plastic research grew much faster than any of the other 55 development-related topics it tracked. “It has really skyrocketed in recent years,” says Utrecht University's Erik Van Sebille, who uses plastic particles to trace ocean currents. But gaps remain in the research. Journals get many papers about “the presence of plastic on beaches, on the seabed, or in animals, but not [many] about sources or solutions,” says Ángel Borja, a marine ecologist at the AZTI research center in Spain. The ecological effects of plastic pollution are another hot research topic. Plastic itself is inert, but often contains toxic additives such as flame retardants, pigments, or chemicals to make plastic more flexible and durable. “These additives are what we're worried about,” says Carmen Morales, an ecotoxicologist at the University of Cádiz's Marine Litter Lab, who in a study published last week found that takeout food and drink packaging is the most pervasive source of ocean plastic. Researchers are also concerned about animals that eat plankton-size particles without deriving any nutrition. Nanoplastic particles, small enough to penetrate tissues, may be the most harmful of all. Yet the overall ecotoxicological effects of plastic are poorly understood. Regardless, plastic pollution is a pressing problem, says Bart Koelmans, an aquatic ecologist at Wageningen University. “It's an eyesore to have all this plastic on beaches,” he says. “For many people, that is enough to be concerned.”
领域	气候变化 ; 资源环境
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引用统计
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.173/C666/handle/2XK7JSWQ/330780
专题	气候变化资源环境科学
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Tania Rabesandratana. Report traces surge in ocean plastic studies[J]. Science,2021.
APA	Tania Rabesandratana.(2021).Report traces surge in ocean plastic studies.Science.
MLA	Tania Rabesandratana."Report traces surge in ocean plastic studies".Science (2021).