Plastics and the Ocean: Origin, Characterization, Fate, and Impacts

Plastics and the Ocean captures the present state of knowledge on the sources, characterization, and environmental impacts of plastics in the ocean. Reflecting on current research and reader interest, the book focuses mainly on micro-scale and nanoscale plastics in the ocean environment, including the human impacts of these that reach consumers via seafood. Recognizing that in the face of future growth in plastics use in packaging, how the mismanagement of plastic waste, especially urban litter, is largely responsible for plastics pollution, the book also addresses human behavioral aspects of the problem.

This collection of expert perspectives is arranged in a logical sequence to guide the reader through this multi-disciplinary subject area. An overview of the field sets the scope of the discussion and highlights its importance to related fields of science, as well as to the everyday life of consumers. Written and edited at a level that is jargon-free and accessible to readers with a background in basic chemistry and biology, this text provides engineers and scientists with a common vocabulary to explore this critical field.