A recent study has unveiled a startling discovery: the presence of microplastic hotspots in the Southern Bight of the UK’s North Sea. Researchers from the Center for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, UK, have found alarmingly high concentrations of microplastics, reaching over 25,000 items per square kilometer. This revelation sheds light on the hidden crisis of plastic pollution in our oceans, challenging the commonly held notion that surface debris represents the full extent of the problem. As the world grapples with the plastic pollution pandemic, this study serves as a wake-up call, highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive action to address this global environmental issue.
Exposing the Secret of Hidden Plastic Sinks
The new research, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, aimed to understand this marine transport system and has unveiled some surprising hotspots of microplastics across the UK North Sea. In the past, he says there has been a tendency for attention to be on plastic waste that can be seen — floating in oceans or beaches. But this research shows the scale of the problem is even worse than we thought, with a substantial amount of microplastics found at the sea floor.
Deploying to the ocean surface where microplastics initially enter the water column via terrestrial runoff or ship-based sources and subsequently approximate to act as biogenic particles, a specialized Neuston Microplastic Catamaran was used by researchers. The numbers are staggering, with more than 25,000 items per square kilometer measured in the Southern Bight of North Sea coastal waters — well above levels found in nearby offshore Scottish and north-east Atlantic waters.
Microplastic Pollution: What is it made of?
Microplastics discovered in the North Sea come mainly from common plastic items like shopping bags, water bottles and children’s toys. In particular, the study identified large quantities of polyethylene (67%), polystyrene (8%) and polypropylene (16%) plastics:
The findings also suggest that such particles from the ocean around the UK have been brought by them via sea currents, with microbeads (banned in Britain since 2018) found. The problem is more wide spread as depicted in the new map there is no country that managed to evade plastic pollution, which stresses global action issue.
The study also found mesoplastics (5-25 mm) and macroplastics (>25 mm), mainly fragmented parts of filaments, subsequent to the decomposition of bigger pieces. This highlights the pervasiveness and longevity of plastic contamination in the marine environment.
Addressing the Plastic Pollution Pandemic
New evidence of microplastic hotspots in the UK’s North Sea today — we do know what is out there, and plastics are entering our oceans at an alarming rate. The numbers registered are smaller than in other locations such as the Galician coast and Canary islands, but the ubiquity of microplastics in virtually any location shows the dimension of the issue.
Somethikng needs to be done about that, and indeed there are many national and international intiatives dealing with this. The UK’s Marine Strategy: development of a microplastics indicator in marine sediments North-East Atlantic Environmental Strategy: reducing and preventing the input of marine litter The United Nations Environment Agency is also pursuing a global, legally binding agreement to stop plastic pollution by 2040.
With the increasing production of Plastics to more than 400million tons annually, we need to fully understand and know how to tackle plastic pollution in Oceans so as not degrade out fragile marine ecosystem and for a sustainable Life for generations yet unborn.
