可能是真的！大太平洋垃圾带中的塑料垃圾，比原先估计的要多很多

论文标题：Evidence that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is rapidly accumulating plastic

期刊：Scientific Reports

发表时间：2018/03/22

数字识别码：
10.1038/s41598-018-22939-w

根据《科学 告》发表的一篇研究Evidence that the Great Pacifc Garbage Patch is rapidly accumulating plastic，大太平洋垃圾带上漂浮着超过7.9万吨海洋塑料，这一数字比之前估计的高了近16倍。

现场的监控工作。船只（灰色和深蓝色线条）和航空器（浅蓝色线条）的轨迹，以及收集漂浮的海洋塑料数据的位置（圆圈）。（Lebreton et al.）

荷兰海洋清理基金会的Laurent Lebreton和同事研究了位于加利福尼亚和夏威夷之间的巨大海洋塑料堆积区，也就是大太平洋垃圾带。结果表明这里的垃圾远比此前估计的更多，而且塑料微粒正在此迅速积聚——从20世纪70年代的0.4 kg km-2到2015年的1.23 kg km-2 。

大太平洋垃圾带上不同大小的海洋塑料的质量和浓度。（Lebreton et al.）

虽然大多数体积较大的废弃物已被分解成小碎片，但是研究者仍得以鉴定一小部分物品，包括储藏罐、瓶子、盖子、包装带、绳子和渔 。样本中的50件物品有可见的生产日期：1件来自1977年，7件来自上世纪80年代，17件来自上世纪90年代，24件来自本世纪头十年，还有1件来自2010年。

大太平洋垃圾带上模拟和测量的塑料浓度。（Lebreton et al.）

论文摘要

Ocean plastic can persist in sea surface waters, eventually accumulating in remote areas of the world’s oceans. Here we characterise and quantify a major ocean plastic accumulation zone formed in subtropical waters between California and Hawaii: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP). Our model, calibrated with data from multi-vessel and aircraft surveys, predicted at least 79 (45–129) thousand tonnes of ocean plastic are floating inside an area of 1.6 million km2; a figure four to sixteen times higher than previously reported. We explain this difference through the use of more robust methods to quantify larger debris. Over three-quarters of the GPGP mass was carried by debris larger than 5?cm and at least 46% was comprised of fishing nets. Microplastics accounted for 8% of the total mass but 94% of the estimated 1.8 (1.1–3.6) trillion pieces floating in the area. Plastic collected during our study has specific characteristics such as small surface-to-volume ratio, indicating that only certain types of debris have the capacity to persist and accumulate at the surface of the GPGP. Finally, our results suggest that ocean plastic pollution within the GPGP is increasing exponentially and at a faster rate than in surrounding waters.

论文链接

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-22939-w