Lost at Sea: Where Is All the Plastic?

• DOI: 10.1126/science.1094559
• Publication Date: 2004-05-06T20:37:24Z
• Authors: Richard C. Thompson; Ylva Olsen; Richard P. Mitchell; Anthony Davis; Steven J. Rowland; Anthony W. G. John; Daniel McGonigle; Andrea E. Russell
• Keywords: 14. Life underwater; 01 natural sciences; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences

Millions of metric tons of plastic are produced annually. Countless large items of plastic debris are accumulating in marine habitats worldwide and may persist for centuries ([ 1 ][1]–[ 4 ][2]). Here we show that microscopic plastic fragments and fibers ([Fig. 1A][3]) are also widespread in the