✅ Sediments act as the main sink of detected plastics.
✅ Concentrations decrease with depth but remain trapped above the pycnocline.
✅ Particle density, size, and shape influence vertical transport.
✅ Low-density polymers dominate the surface, while high-density polymers accumulate deeper.

We need an effective Global Plastics Treaty that protects life on this planet 🌍. We need it to be built on the foundation of the best available science🔬 and traditional knowledge🌱, transparent 📃, binding, and free of conflict of interest🛢. We need to keep the high ambition+action! Here we go #INC5.2

Next stop: Geneva in August, where negotiations will (hopefully) move us closer to an effective global plastics treaty that truly protects marine life — and beyond 💙

Over the course of the week, I had the joy of meeting incredible new people — thoughtful and passionate — and reconnecting with old colleagues and friends who continue to inspire me with their work and commitment.

🌍 A fireside chat on how science can support a strong global plastics treaty, featuring voices from research, policy, and indigenous communities.

❓ And an “Ask a Scientist” session — open, informal conversations around plastic pollution and the importance of evidence-based action.

5/ 🤝 Thanks to
@Ecopuertos
& artisanal fishermen for long-term monitoring that made this possible.
📖 Read the full study: www.cell.com/iscience/ful...

4/ 💡 We call for: – Recognition of agriculture as a key marine plastic source – Stronger upstream policies & collection schemes – Inclusion of agroplastics in the Global Plastics Treaty

3/ 🌍 In the Mediterranean, up to 38% of the coast is agricultural land. Intensive irrigation, coastal farming & poor waste management = high plastic leakage risk. This pattern is likely to occur in many regions globally.