Marine Litter Vital Graphics

SOURCES

In addition to direct input of microplastics resulting from human activities, plastic debris already present in the environment can be a very significant source of microplastics. Plastic debris will progressively become brittle under the action of ultraviolet light and heat and then fragment under physical action from wind and waves into tiny microplastic pieces (Andrady, 2015). Due to the abundance of plastic debris in the marine environment this is likely to represent a major source of microplastic

(Andrady, 2011) in future years, even if prevention measures drastically reduce the inflow of large objects. Processes that produce marine microplastics include fragmentation of plastic debris in the sea by physical and chemical weathering; biologically mediated fragmentation of plastic debris at sea or in the coastal zone through digestion in birds and other macrofauna; boring and transport ashore allowing increased physical and chemical weathering; and remobilization of plastic polluted sediments or soils.

Marine Litter Vital Graphics

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