Researchers from Kyushu University and Asahi Kasei Corp. have developed a new way to estimate the age of microplastics found in the upper oceans. Published in Marine Pollution Bulletin, the new method combines plastic oxidation analysis with UV exposure and ambient temperature.

By applying their new method to microplastics found across the North Pacific Ocean, the team found that the age of microplastics in nearshore regions ranged up to five years old, whereas microplastics from offshore regions ranged from one to three years old.

See the publication here.

Photo Credit: Kyushu University/Isobe Lab