Modelling the global impact of carbon leaching from marine plastic debris on oceanic and atmospheric tracers
Date
2023-05-17
Authors
Gurgacz-Safianowicz, Natalia
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Abstract
Since the beginning of its large-scale production in the early twentieth century, plastic remains a critical material used throughout several industries. Despite serving many benefits, plastics are resistant to degradation and instead, accumulate in the ocean and affect marine ecosystems. The leaching of toxic compounds from plastics has been widely researched, but only recently have studies begun to explore dissolved organic carbon as a leachate from marine plastic debris, as well as its effects on microbial communities. Furthermore, research has only recently begun to explore the potential effects of plastic-derived carbon leaching on the global carbon cycle and hence Earth’s climate system. Here we quantify an upper bound estimate for this effect using the UVic Earth System Climate Model with the addition of global and regional carbon fluxes, based on current and projected marine plastic values. The results of these modelling integrations indicate that the addition of the plastic-derived DIC flux results in only very minor changes to the Earth’s climate, emphasizing the need to focus research on plastic production and incineration-associated emissions, which are a greater threat to the climate.
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Keywords
plastic, carbon, plastic-carbon, marine plastic pollution, climate modelling, UVic ESCM, plastic debris, plastic pollution, climate change, global carbon cycle, atmospheric CO2, plastic emissions, plastic leaching