Environmental Science · Literature

Research papers on Ocean plastic pollution

Recent and highly-cited academic work on ocean plastic pollution, gathered from Semantic Scholar, CrossRef and OpenAlex.

1. Weathering and fragmentation of plastic debris in the ocean environment

   Anthony L. Andrady · 2022 · Marine Pollution Bulletin · 193 citations

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2. Viewpoint – Ocean plastic pollution: A convenient but distracting truth?

   Richard Stafford, Peter J.S. Jones · 2019 · Marine Policy · 172 citations

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3. Floating plastic in the Kuroshio Current area, western North Pacific Ocean

   Rei Yamashita, Atsushi Tanimura · 2007 · Marine Pollution Bulletin · 118 citations

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4. The influence of plastic pollution and ocean change on detrital decomposition

   Sebastian G. Litchfield, Kai G. Schulz, Brendan P. Kelaher · 2020 · Marine Pollution Bulletin · 53 citations

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5. The important role of marine debris networks to prevent and reduce ocean plastic pollution

   J.H. Kandziora, N. van Toulon, P. Sobral, et al. · 2019 · Marine Pollution Bulletin · 53 citations

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6. Plastic pellets collected by a prion on Gough Island, central South Atlantic ocean

   W.R.P. Bourne, M.J. Imber · 1982 · Marine Pollution Bulletin · 42 citations

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7. There is nothing convenient about plastic pollution. Rejoinder to Stafford and Jones “Viewpoint – Ocean plastic pollution: A convenient but distracting truth?”

   Stephanie Avery-Gomm, Tony R. Walker, Mark L. Mallory, et al. · 2019 · Marine Policy · 38 citations

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8. Plastic ingestion by blue shark Prionace glauca in the South Pacific Ocean (south of the Peruvian Sea)

   César Fernández, Aikaterini Anastasopoulou · 2019 · Marine Pollution Bulletin · 28 citations

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9. How much plastic is in the ocean? You tell me!

   Charles James Moore · 2015 · Marine Pollution Bulletin · 21 citations

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10. Harnessing citizen science to tackle urban-sourced ocean plastic pollution: Experiences and lessons learned from implementing city-wide surveys of plastic litter

    Samuel Winton, Keiron P. Roberts, Cressida Bowyer, et al. · 2023 · Marine Pollution Bulletin · 14 citations

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11. Effect of Plastic Ocean Pollution on Marine Life and Human Health in Brazil

    Lucas Augusto · 2024 · International Journal of Environmental Sciences · 1 citations

    Purpose: The aim of the study was to examine effect of plastic ocean pollution on marine life and human health in Brazil. Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: The study found that pervasive presence of plastic debris in Brazil's coastal waters threatens marine ecosystems, leading to entanglement, ingestion, and suffocatio

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12. Marine Plastic Pollution: What Will Happen to the Global Plastics Treaty?

    Tony R. Walker · 2026 · Ocean Yearbook Online

    The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee failed to secure a legally binding Global Plastics Treaty at the second session of INC-5 in 2025 in Geneva. This failure to reach an agreement, highlights the deep geopolitical and economic divisions that limit multilateral environmental agreements. More than 70 countries in the High-Ambition Coalition supported upstream interventions, such as capping plastic production and phasing out hazardous chemical additives. However, fossil-fuel producing member states (members of the Like-Minded Group) supported by petrochemical lobbyists, pushed to limit the text of the treaty to downstream measures, such as improvements to recycling and better waste manag

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