Plastic Accumulation in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre

TLDR

Plastic marine pollution is a major environmental concern, yet a quantitative description of its scope in the open ocean is lacking. The study aims to quantify surface plastic accumulation in the western North Atlantic and Caribbean from 1986 to 2008. The authors compile a time series of surface plastic content using plankton net tows across the region during that period. More than 60 % of 6136 surface net tows collected buoyant millimeter‑sized plastic, with the highest concentrations in subtropical latitudes linked to Ekman‑driven convergence, yet no increasing trend in plastic concentration was detected despite rising production.

Abstract

Plastic marine pollution is a major environmental concern, yet a quantitative description of the scope of this problem in the open ocean is lacking. Here, we present a time series of plastic content at the surface of the western North Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea from 1986 to 2008. More than 60% of 6136 surface plankton net tows collected buoyant plastic pieces, typically millimeters in size. The highest concentration of plastic debris was observed in subtropical latitudes and associated with the observed large-scale convergence in surface currents predicted by Ekman dynamics. Despite a rapid increase in plastic production and disposal during this time period, no trend in plastic concentration was observed in the region of highest accumulation.