A mass budget and box model of global plastics cycling, degradation and dispersal in the land-ocean-atmosphere system

Microplastics and Nanoplastics

Table 1 Subsurface ocean microplastics (MP) observations

Ocean basin	Location	depth	LMP + SMP	Reference
Ocean basin	Location	m	μg m^− 3	Reference
N-Pacific	Korean East Sea	206	125	[34]
N-Pacific	Korean East Sea	2100	177	[34]
N-Pacific	Mariana Trench	2673	90	[6]
Mean			131
1σ			44
N- and S-Atlantic	-53^o S to 47^o N	160	134	[36]
N-Atlantic	Rockall Trough	2200	97	[35]
S-Atlantic	Gyre		43	[38]
Mean			91
1σ			46
Arctic Ocean	Central basin	5 to 1000	6	[39]
Arctic Ocean	Central basin	1769	66	[40]
Arctic Ocean	Fram Strait	300 to 5570	0.2	[40]
Mean			24
1 σ			36

MP include fragments and fibers in the 0.3 –5 mm (LMP) and < 0.3 mm (SMP) range. Reported data in # m⁻³ were converted to mass concentrations, taking into account the full particle/fiber size distribution (see Methods)