Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1126/sciadv.aaz5803
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) More than 1000 rivers account for 80% of global riverine plastic emissions into the ocean
Author Meijer, L.J.J.; van Emmerik, T.; van der Ent, R.; Schmidt, C.; Lebreton, L.
Source Titel Science Advances
Year 2021
Department ASAM; HDG
Volume 7
Issue 18
Page From eaaz5803
Language englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Supplements http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/suppl/2021/04/26/7.18.eaaz5803.DC1
Abstract Plastic waste increasingly accumulates in the marine environment, but data on the distribution and quantification of riverine sources required for development of effective mitigation are limited. Our model approach includes geographically distributed data on plastic waste, land use, wind, precipitation, and rivers and calculates the probability for plastic waste to reach a river and subsequently the ocean. This probabilistic approach highlights regions that are likely to emit plastic into the ocean. We calibrated our model using recent field observations and show that emissions are distributed over more rivers than previously thought by up to two orders of magnitude. We estimate that more than 1000 rivers account for 80% of global annual emissions, which range between 0.8 million and 2.7 million metric tons per year, with small urban rivers among the most polluting. These high-resolution data allow for the focused development of mitigation strategies and technologies to reduce riverine plastic emissions.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=24659
Meijer, L.J.J., van Emmerik, T., van der Ent, R., Schmidt, C., Lebreton, L. (2021):
More than 1000 rivers account for 80% of global riverine plastic emissions into the ocean
Sci. Adv. 7 (18), eaaz5803 10.1126/sciadv.aaz5803