Now you see it… The problem of floating plastics in our seas and oceans

Authors

  • Rafael Sardá Centre d’Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CEAB-CSIC)
  • Juan Ramis ESADE Business School
  • Luis Francisco Ruiz-Orejón Centre d’Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CEAB-CSIC)

Keywords:

plastics, microplastics, DPSWR, Mediterranean Sea.

Abstract

According to estimates, between 7 and 18 million tonnes of plastic could enter the seas and oceans of our planet this year (and probably even more if we make other assumptions). Between 70 and 95 % of this material will sink to the bottom and the rest will reach our coasts or become fragmented and end up in meso-, micro- and nano-plastic particles which will float about our seas or enter their food chains. We have created plastics, we depend on them, and now we have discovered that they are also a problem for us. In the 21st century, like so many other environmental issues, it is a problem that is global (particles will be mobilized by currents regardless of their origin), persistent (we may use them for only one minute, but they will remain as rubbish for a century or more), and uncertain (we are only starting to realise some of the problems that this entails but these problems are already quite serious). In this paper, basing ourselves on data from the NIXE III Project carried out in the Mediterranean, we will discuss the problem of plastics and what impact these materials have on our seas, which marine ecosystem services are affected, and which responses we must consider as a civil society.

Keywords: plastics, microplastics, DPSWR, Mediterranean Sea.

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Issue

Vol. 70 (2020)

Section

Destacats de recerca

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