Editorial: Impacts of Marine Litter

Frontiers in Marine Science – article published, introducing the Research Topic “Impacts of Marine Litter” 

Picture by Adam Porter – “What a Fine Mess We Have Made”, winner of the 3rd place EPHEMARE photo contest IMPACT 2017 

“Marine litter is an urgent environmental threat comprising primarily plastic debris. Yet, the global production of plastic is expected to double over the next decades, with envisaged severe impacts across ecosystems and societies. This editorial introduces to the Research Topic “Impacts of Marine Litter”, aiming at a better understanding of marine litter impacts from the ecological, ecotoxicological, economic, and social point of view. This Research Topic also aims at proposing new strategies for the prevention, mitigation and monitoring of marine litter. With its 13 published papers, the Research Topic provides new information on the environmental distribution (including sources and sinks) of marine litter across the globe, as well as on the impacts of plastics’ associated contaminants to marine micro and macro fauna. It also highlights constraints and priorities for conducting exposure experiments of marine wildlife to plastics, discusses regulation and policy measures for land waste management and litter disposal at sea, and identifies remaining knowledge gaps which should be the focus of future interdisciplinary research and policy interventions.”

Read the full Editorial here.

Read the 13 published papers of the Research Topic “Impacts of Marine Litter” here.

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From the EGU General Assembly in Vienna, 2019…

Happy to share with you! Last week we were at EGU General Assembly 2019 to present POSEIDOMM results. We had a poster in the session “Plastic in the environment: observing and explaining where it comes from and where it goes” 

on display on Monday, 8th of April. Our poster presentation was titled:

“Microplastics Influence Carbon Dynamics of Marine Surface Waters”

and you can find the abstract here.

A highlight of the General Assembly was undoubtedly the Science and Society Dialogue of Geoscientists with Ilaria Capua and Mario Monti, focusing on Science and Politics.

“The dialogue between scientists, institutions, policymakers and the general public is widely recognised as an essential step towards a fair and sustainable society. Nowadays, more than ever in human history, international cooperation is an essential requirement for protecting the planet, advancing science and ensuring an equitable development of the global economy.”

You can stream the full talks by clicking on the image here below.