Eine 7-Jahres-Studie zeigt, dass Plastikfragmente aus aller Welt im Nordpazifik-Müllfeld rasant zunehmen. Die Konzentration kleiner Trümmer-Hotspots stieg von 1 Million pro km2 im Jahr 2015 auf über 10 Millionen pro km2 im Jahr 2022

A study published today in IOP Publishing’s journal Environmental Research Letters reveals that centimetre-sized plastic fragments are increasing much faster than larger floating plastics in the North Pacific Garbage Patch [NPGP], threatening the local ecosystem and potentially the global carbon cycle.

The research, which draws from not-for-profit The Ocean Cleanup’s systematic surveys of the NPGP between 2015 and 2022, found an unexpected rise in mass concentration of plastic fragments that are likely new to the region, and not resulting from degradation of already present objects. The researchers hypothesise that these fragments from the break-down of decades old plastics discarded globally are now accumulating and exponentially increasing in this remote region of the Pacific Ocean.

The study examines 917 manta trawl samples, 162 mega trawl samples, 74 aerial surveys, and 40 clean-up system extractions from 50 individual expeditions between 2015 and 2022.

Key findings include:

Plastic fragments rose from 2.9kg per km2 to 14.2kg per km2 in 7 years
74% – 96% of this rise may be originating from foreign sources.
Small debris hotspots increased in concentration from 1 million per km2 in 2015 to over 10 million per km2 in 2022
Per km2 , the average number of every size class of floating plastics has significantly increased:
– Microplastics (0.5mm-5mm) risen from 960,000 to 1,500,000 items

– Mesoplastics (5mm-50mm) risen from 34,000 to 235,000 items

– Macroplastics (50mm-500mm) risen from 800 to 1,800 items per km2

[https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ad78ed](https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ad78ed)