Reducing Uncertainty and Confronting Ignorance about the Possible Impacts of Weathering Plastic in the Marine Environment
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research · Norwegian Geotechnical Institute · +4 more institutions
Abstract
Plastic in the global oceans fulfills two of the three conditions for pollution to pose a planetary boundary threat because it is causing planetary-scale exposure that is not readily reversible. Plastic is a planetary boundary threat if it is having a currently unrecognized disruptive effect on a vital Earth system process. Discovering possible unknown effects is likely to be aided by achieving a fuller understanding of the environmental fate of plastic. Weathering of plastic generates microplastic, releases chemical additives, and likely also produces nanoplastic and chemical fragments cleaved from the polymer backbone. However, weathering of plastic in the marine environment is not well understood in terms…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 12.77
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 57
Authors
12Topics & keywords
- Weathering
- Plastic pollution
- Environmental science
- Earth science
- Ignorance
- Environmental hazard
- Astrobiology
- Geology
- Life below water