Dataset Overview | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Floating microplastics concentration collected from MV Maersk Launcher, MV Maersk Transporter, and RV Professor Kaganovskiy in the eastern North Pacific Ocean from 2015-07-25 to 2019-12-09 (NCEI Accession 0276264)

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This study was carried out to estimate the floating microplastics (plastics from size 0.5mm to 5mm, reported in unit of pieces/m^3) concentration in the North Pacific Ocean. Microplastics data was collected from 2015-07-25 to 2019-12-09 aboard MV Maersk Launcher, MV Maersk Transporter, and RV Professor Kaganovskiy, using manta and neuston nets. This dataset contains the results from all 663 sampling efforts, in a spreadsheet format.

Dataset Citation

Cite as: Egger, Matthias; Nijhof, Rein; Quiros, Lauren; Leone, Giulia; Royer, Sarah-Jeanne; McWhirter, Andrew; Kantakov, Gennady; Radchenko, Vladimir; Pakhomov, Evgeny; Hunt, Brian; Lebreton, Laurent (2023). Floating microplastics concentration collected from MV Maersk Launcher, MV Maersk Transporter, and RV Professor Kaganovskiy in the eastern North Pacific Ocean from 2015-07-25 to 2019-12-09 (NCEI Accession 0276264). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0276264. Accessed [date].

Dataset Identifiers

ISO 19115-2 Metadata

gov.noaa.nodc:0276264

Full Text · XML

Download Data	HTTPS (download) Navigate directly to the URL for data access and direct download. FTP (download) These data are available through the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). FTP is no longer supported by most internet browsers. You may copy and paste the FTP link to the data into an FTP client (e.g., FileZilla or WinSCP).
Distribution Formats	Excel
Ordering Instructions	Contact NCEI for other distribution options and instructions.
Distributor	NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information +1-301-713-3277 NCEI.Info@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact	NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information ncei.info@noaa.gov

Time Period	2015-07-25 to 2019-12-09
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates	West: -156.4 East: -127.6827 South: 20.21 North: 56.7846667
Spatial Coverage Map

General Documentation

NCEI Dataset Landing Page
Navigate directly to the URL for a descriptive web page with download links.
Descriptive Information
Navigate directly to the URL for a descriptive web page with download links.

Associated Resources

The NOAA NCEI Global Marine Microplastics Database (1972-present)
- NCEI Collection
  Navigate directly to the URL for data access and direct download.
Egger M, Nijhof R, Quiros L, Leone G, Royer S-J, McWhirter AC, Kantakov GA, Radchenko VI, Pakhomov EA, Hunt BPV, Lebreton L. A spatially variable scarcity of floating microplastics in the eastern North Pacific Ocean. Environmental Research Letters. 2020 Nov 5;15:114056.
- https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abbb4f
  journal article

gov.noaa.nodc:NCEI-Marine-Microplastics

Publication Dates	publication: 2023-01-11
Data Presentation Form	Digital table - digital representation of facts or figures systematically displayed, especially in columns
Dataset Progress Status	Complete - production of the data has been completed Historical archive - data has been stored in an offline storage facility
Data Update Frequency	As needed
Supplemental Information	Submission Package ID: C75PAK
Purpose	These data were collected in order to determine the floating microplastics concentrations in the North Pacific Ocean during 2015-07-25 to 2019-12-09
Use Limitations	accessLevel: Public Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives.

Dataset Citation	Cite as: Egger, Matthias; Nijhof, Rein; Quiros, Lauren; Leone, Giulia; Royer, Sarah-Jeanne; McWhirter, Andrew; Kantakov, Gennady; Radchenko, Vladimir; Pakhomov, Evgeny; Hunt, Brian; Lebreton, Laurent (2023). Floating microplastics concentration collected from MV Maersk Launcher, MV Maersk Transporter, and RV Professor Kaganovskiy in the eastern North Pacific Ocean from 2015-07-25 to 2019-12-09 (NCEI Accession 0276264). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0276264. Accessed [date].
Cited Authors	Egger, Matthias The Ocean Cleanup Nijhof, Rein Quiros, Lauren Leone, Giulia Royer, Sarah-Jeanne McWhirter, Andrew Kantakov, Gennady Radchenko, Vladimir Pakhomov, Evgeny Hunt, Brian Lebreton, Laurent
Contributors	The Ocean Cleanup
Resource Providers	Matthias Egger The Ocean Cleanup The Ocean Cleanup
Points of Contact	Ebenezer Nyadjro Mississippi State University (MSU)
Publishers	NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
Acknowledgments	Related Funding Agency: The Ocean Cleanup Foundation

Theme keywords	NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS microplastic concentration NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS in situ WMO_CategoryCode oceanography Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > WATER QUALITY > SEA SURFACE CONTAMINANTS > MICROPLASTIC CONCENTRATION
Data Center keywords	NODC COLLECTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS The Ocean Cleanup NODC SUBMITTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS The Ocean Cleanup
Platform keywords	NODC PLATFORM NAMES THESAURUS PROFESSOR KAGANOVSKIY Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Platform Keywords Ships ICES/SeaDataNet Ship Codes ПРОФЕССОР КАГАНОВСКИЙ (call sign: UTTW, ICES code: 90ZH, 1987-1991) Provider Platform Names MV Maersk Launcher MV Maersk Transporter RV Professor Kaganovskiy
Instrument keywords	NODC INSTRUMENT TYPES THESAURUS Manta net Neuston net Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Instrument Keywords NETS > NETS NEUSTON NET
Place keywords	NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS Gulf of Alaska North Pacific Ocean Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN > GULF OF ALASKA
Keywords	NCEI ACCESSION NUMBER 0276264

Use Constraints	Cite as: Egger, Matthias; Nijhof, Rein; Quiros, Lauren; Leone, Giulia; Royer, Sarah-Jeanne; McWhirter, Andrew; Kantakov, Gennady; Radchenko, Vladimir; Pakhomov, Evgeny; Hunt, Brian; Lebreton, Laurent (2023). Floating microplastics concentration collected from MV Maersk Launcher, MV Maersk Transporter, and RV Professor Kaganovskiy in the eastern North Pacific Ocean from 2015-07-25 to 2019-12-09 (NCEI Accession 0276264). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0276264. Accessed [date].
Access Constraints	Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
Fees	In most cases, electronic downloads of the data are free. However, fees may apply for custom orders, data certifications, copies of analog materials, and data distribution on physical media.

Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps	2023-01-11T14:07:32Z - NCEI Accession 0276264 v1.1 was published.
Output Datasets	NCEI Accession 0276264 v1.1 NCEI Accession 0276264 v1.1 (download) published 2023-01-11T14:07:32Z

Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps	Parameter or Variable: MICROPLASTIC CONCENTRATION (measured); Units: pieces/m3; Observation Category: in situ; Sampling Instrument: Manta net; Neuston net; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Microplastics (from size 0.5mm to 5mm) concentrations were collected onboard MV Maersk Launcher, MV Maersk Transporter, and RV Professor Kaganovskiy during six expeditions to the eastern North Pacific Ocean between 2015 and 2019. Expedition 1 occurred during July-September 2015 and involved 501 trawls. Expedition 2 occurred during September-October 2018 and involved 16 trawls. Expedition 3 occurred during January 2019 and involved 12 trawls. Expedition 4 occurred during February-March 2019 and involved 45 trawls. Expedition 5 occurred during June-August 2019 and involved 44 trawls. Expedition 6 occurred during November-December 2019 and involved 45 trawls. Expeditions 1, 2,3 and 6 a Manta trawl (Ocean Instruments, Inc.) with a mouth area of 90 × 15 cm (width × height) and a square nylon net-mesh of 500 μm, and was deployed for 30–90 min at a towing speed of <2.5 knots. Sampled water volumes were estimated based on distance measurements from a mechanical flow meter (General Oceanics, Inc.) multiplied by the net mouth area. After each deployment, the net was rinsed from the outside with freshwater and the cod-end (333 μm mesh size) removed, sealed with staples, placed in individual zip-lock bags, wrapped in aluminum foil and stored frozen until further analysis in the onshore laboratory. Expedition 5 used the same Manta trawl as for expeditions 2,3 and 6. In this expedition however, the Manta trawl was deployed for 30 min at a towing speed of approximately 1.5–2 knots. After each deployment, the net was rinsed from the outside with seawater and the cod-end (333 μm mesh size) removed. The collected samples were then transferred from the cod-end to a 333 μm mesh sieve, where plastic samples were separated from neuston biota. Plastic particles were subsequently hand-picked and stored frozen in 50 ml Falcon tubes until further analysis in the onshore laboratory. For expedition 4, the samples were collected using a neuston trawl (HydroBios) with a mouth area of 70 × 40 cm (width × height) and a square net mesh of 300 μm. A total of 45 stations were sampled by deploying the neuston trawl for 15 min at vessel speeds <2.5 knots. Sampled water volumes were estimated using a mechanical flow meter (Hydro-Bios). After each deployment, the net was carefully rinsed from the outside with seawater and its cod end removed. The cod-end was gently washed with seawater above a 250 μm Nytex sieve in the onboard laboratory and the collected material transferred to a Whirl-Pak® bag and stored together with 25 ml of 37% formaldehyde for subsequent analyses in the onshore laboratory. All trawled samples were analyzed in the laboratory of The Ocean Cleanup. The content of each sample was washed into a stainless-steel sieve (500 μm square mesh, 29 cm diameter). The sieve was then placed separately into round aluminum tins (30 cm diameter) filled with filtered seawater (<1 μm) from the North Pacific Ocean. Multiple LED torches were placed over the sieves from various angles to ensure good light conditions, which is particularly important for detecting small microplastics. Subsequently, floating objects and particles attached to biomass identified as buoyant anthropogenic debris were hand-picked using stainless-steel tweezers and their widest dimension was measured with a ruler. Once counted and categorized, the plastic objects were washed with water purified by reverse osmosis, transferred to aluminum dishes, dried at 60 ◦C for 3 h, and weighed using an OHAUS Explorer EX324M scale (0.0001 g readability). The numerical concentrations of plastic items measured by each net tow were corrected for wind-induced turbulent mixing.; Data Quality Method: Measures taken to minimize contamination during sampling and sample processing are as follows. To minimize contamination with plastic fragments, standard non-plastic laboratory and fieldwork equipment such as metal and glass were used whenever possible, and the samples always remained covered with aluminum foil when not in use. Furthermore, all nets and all cod-ends were thoroughly rinsed from the outside prior to each deployment and carefully inspected for the presence of (micro)plastic particles. The Manta trawl was stored rolled up and closed between uses. The seawater (taken from the North Pacific Ocean) used in the laboratory was filtered through a sequence of filters (< 20 μm, < 5 μm, < 1 μm) and all laboratory equipment (sieves, tweezers, aluminum tins and dishes) was thoroughly rinsed and carefully inspected for cleanliness prior to each use. Contamination by fibers broken off the nylon nets can be excluded as the study did not observe any nylon fibers in the cod-end samples. Furthermore, the study did not include any microfibers in their analyses, as these fibers typically pass through the trawling nets deployed here. Thus, possible contamination with airborne synthetic fibers (a major source of microplastic contamination) does not impact the results..

Lineage information for: dataset

Processing Steps

Parameter or Variable: MICROPLASTIC CONCENTRATION (measured); Units: pieces/m3; Observation Category: in situ; Sampling Instrument: Manta net; Neuston net; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Microplastics (from size 0.5mm to 5mm) concentrations were collected onboard MV Maersk Launcher, MV Maersk Transporter, and RV Professor Kaganovskiy during six expeditions to the eastern North Pacific Ocean between 2015 and 2019. Expedition 1 occurred during July-September 2015 and involved 501 trawls. Expedition 2 occurred during September-October 2018 and involved 16 trawls. Expedition 3 occurred during January 2019 and involved 12 trawls. Expedition 4 occurred during February-March 2019 and involved 45 trawls. Expedition 5 occurred during June-August 2019 and involved 44 trawls. Expedition 6 occurred during November-December 2019 and involved 45 trawls. Expeditions 1, 2,3 and 6 a Manta trawl (Ocean Instruments, Inc.) with a mouth area of 90 × 15 cm (width × height) and a square nylon net-mesh of 500 μm, and was deployed for 30–90 min at a towing speed of <2.5 knots. Sampled water volumes were estimated based on distance measurements from a mechanical flow meter (General Oceanics, Inc.) multiplied by the net mouth area. After each deployment, the net was rinsed from the outside with freshwater and the cod-end (333 μm mesh size) removed, sealed with staples, placed in individual zip-lock bags, wrapped in aluminum foil and stored frozen until further analysis in the onshore laboratory. Expedition 5 used the same Manta trawl as for expeditions 2,3 and 6. In this expedition however, the Manta trawl was deployed for 30 min at a towing speed of approximately 1.5–2 knots. After each deployment, the net was rinsed from the outside with seawater and the cod-end (333 μm mesh size) removed. The collected samples were then transferred from the cod-end to a 333 μm mesh sieve, where plastic samples were separated from neuston biota. Plastic particles were subsequently hand-picked and stored frozen in 50 ml Falcon tubes until further analysis in the onshore laboratory. For expedition 4, the samples were collected using a neuston trawl (HydroBios) with a mouth area of 70 × 40 cm (width × height) and a square net mesh of 300 μm. A total of 45 stations were sampled by deploying the neuston trawl for 15 min at vessel speeds <2.5 knots. Sampled water volumes were estimated using a mechanical flow meter (Hydro-Bios). After each deployment, the net was carefully rinsed from the outside with seawater and its cod end removed. The cod-end was gently washed with seawater above a 250 μm Nytex sieve in the onboard laboratory and the collected material transferred to a Whirl-Pak® bag and stored together with 25 ml of 37% formaldehyde for subsequent analyses in the onshore laboratory. All trawled samples were analyzed in the laboratory of The Ocean Cleanup. The content of each sample was washed into a stainless-steel sieve (500 μm square mesh, 29 cm diameter). The sieve was then placed separately into round aluminum tins (30 cm diameter) filled with filtered seawater (<1 μm) from the North Pacific Ocean. Multiple LED torches were placed over the sieves from various angles to ensure good light conditions, which is particularly important for detecting small microplastics. Subsequently, floating objects and particles attached to biomass identified as buoyant anthropogenic debris were hand-picked using stainless-steel tweezers and their widest dimension was measured with a ruler. Once counted and categorized, the plastic objects were washed with water purified by reverse osmosis, transferred to aluminum dishes, dried at 60 ◦C for 3 h, and weighed using an OHAUS Explorer EX324M scale (0.0001 g readability). The numerical concentrations of plastic items measured by each net tow were corrected for wind-induced turbulent mixing.; Data Quality Method: Measures taken to minimize contamination during sampling and sample processing are as follows. To minimize contamination with plastic fragments, standard non-plastic laboratory and fieldwork equipment such as metal and glass were used whenever possible, and the samples always remained covered with aluminum foil when not in use. Furthermore, all nets and all cod-ends were thoroughly rinsed from the outside prior to each deployment and carefully inspected for the presence of (micro)plastic particles. The Manta trawl was stored rolled up and closed between uses. The seawater (taken from the North Pacific Ocean) used in the laboratory was filtered through a sequence of filters (< 20 μm, < 5 μm, < 1 μm) and all laboratory equipment (sieves, tweezers, aluminum tins and dishes) was thoroughly rinsed and carefully inspected for cleanliness prior to each use. Contamination by fibers broken off the nylon nets can be excluded as the study did not observe any nylon fibers in the cod-end samples. Furthermore, the study did not include any microfibers in their analyses, as these fibers typically pass through the trawling nets deployed here. Thus, possible contamination with airborne synthetic fibers (a major source of microplastic contamination) does not impact the results..

Acquisition Information (collection)
Instrument	Manta net Neuston net
Platform	PROFESSOR KAGANOVSKIY

Last Modified: 2024-02-17T16:29:52Z
For questions about the information on this page, please email: ncei.info@noaa.gov

Floating microplastics concentration collected from MV Maersk Launcher, MV Maersk Transporter, and RV Professor Kaganovskiy in the eastern North Pacific Ocean from 2015-07-25 to 2019-12-09 (NCEI Accession 0276264)

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