http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset/946726 eng; USA utf8 dataset Highest level of data collection, from a common set of sensors or instrumentation, usually within the same research project Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO) Unavailable 508-289-2009 WHOI MS#36 Woods Hole MA 02543 USA info@bco-dmo.org http://www.bco-dmo.org Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm For questions regarding this resource, please contact BCO-DMO via the email address provided. pointOfContact 2024-12-26 ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata - Part 2: Extensions for Imagery and Gridded Data ISO 19115-2:2009(E) Photodegradation of macroplastics in the marine environment: Thermalgravimetric analysis 2025-06-17 publication 2025-06-17 revision Marine Biological Laboratory/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Library (MBLWHOI DLA) 2025-06-20 publication https://doi.org/10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.946726.1 Rut Pedrosa Pàmies Marine Biological Laboratory principalInvestigator Scott Gallager Coastal Ocean Vision principalInvestigator Zhanfei Liu University of Texas at Austin principalInvestigator Emil Ruff Marine Biological Laboratory principalInvestigator Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO) Unavailable 508-289-2009 WHOI MS#36 Woods Hole MA 02543 USA info@bco-dmo.org http://www.bco-dmo.org Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm For questions regarding this resource, please contact BCO-DMO via the email address provided. publisher Cite this dataset as: Jiang, X., Liu, Z., Gallager, S., Pedrosa Pàmies, R., Ruff, E. (2025) Photodegradation of macroplastics in the marine environment: Thermalgravimetric analysis. Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO). (Version 1) Version Date 2025-06-17 [if applicable, indicate subset used]. doi:10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.946726.1 [access date] Thermalgravimetric analysis: macroplastics degradation experiment Dataset Description: Methods and Sampling: &lt;p&gt;High-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and polycarbonate (PC) plastic sheets, as the primary plastic without weathering previously, were obtained from McMaster-Carr Supply Company (USA). These polymers were chosen because of their large-scale global production and their widespread presence in the marine environment.&amp;nbsp;The plastic sheets (122 cm × 61 cm) had a thickness of 1.6 mm. The exact formula and additive information were not provided by the vendor. However, plastic additives in various concentrations were confirmed in different plastics through Pyr-GC/MS. Plastic sheets were cut into small tabs (1.3 cm × 4.4 cm) and then cleaned with DI water and dried in a laminar-flow hood before further use.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div&gt;To simulate long-term weathering conditions in the marine environment, plastic tabs underwent a controlled experimental setup. Four plastic tabs of each polymer type were placed within a 10 cm Pyrex crystallizing dish filled with 200 mL of filtered natural seawater (1 μm spiral wound cartridge filter, Pall, USA, salinity 32 psu) and maintained at 55 °C with three replicates. Additionally, approximately 10,000 glass beads (1 mm diameter) were introduced to the dish, covering 80% of the dish’s bottom surface area, with continuous agitation provided by a rotary table (stroke length 10 cm, speed 60 rpm) to simulate the effects of physical contact with sediment particles in coastal water. UVA lighting (315–400 nm) was applied using three overhead LED UV lamps (Isuerfy, 120 W, F120W-UV-US), positioned 3 cm above the dishes, with an intensity of 230 W/m2&amp;nbsp;each, verified by a UV light meter (UV513AB, General Tools). UVA was selected due to its prevalence and deeper penetration depth over the other UV bands.&amp;nbsp;On average, the simulated UVA irradiance was approximately 50 times that of natural UVA strength, estimated at 4.5 W/m2&amp;nbsp;reaching the earth on a global average,&amp;nbsp;i.e., 3 months of continuous light exposure in this experiment equals approximately 25 years of natural diel UVA exposure in the ocean. To maintain constant salinity and water levels, distilled water was replenished every other day.&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div&gt;The plastic tabs were subsampled at four different time points:&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;T&lt;/em&gt;0&amp;nbsp;(before weathering),&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;T&lt;/em&gt;1&amp;nbsp;(3 months ≈ 25 years),&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;T&lt;/em&gt;2&amp;nbsp;(6 months ≈ 50 years), and&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;T&lt;/em&gt;3&amp;nbsp;(9 months ≈ 75 years). These time points were chosen to capture the progressive changes in the plastic tabs over the course of the weathering process. The experimental design, involving the coincubation of plastic tabs of the same polymer with agitation, posed challenges for tracking the weight change of a specific tab at a given time point. Additionally, due to incubation in seawater, effectively removing all sea salt adhered to the plastic surface through water rinsing was difficult. Thus, we did not measure the weight loss of the tabs with the exposure time.&lt;/div&gt; Funding provided by NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE) Award Number: OCE-2033828 Award URL: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award?AWD_ID=2033828 completed Rut Pedrosa Pàmies Marine Biological Laboratory 508-289-7715 7 MBL St Woods Hole MA 02543 USA rpedrosa@mbl.edu pointOfContact Scott Gallager Coastal Ocean Vision 508-289-2783 266 Woods Hole Rd. Marine Research Facility 107 (MS# 50) Woods Hole MA 02543 USA sgallager@gmail.com pointOfContact Zhanfei Liu University of Texas at Austin 361-749-6772 Marine Science Institute 750 Channel View Dr Port Aransas TX 783735015 US zhanfei.liu@utexas.edu pointOfContact Emil Ruff Marine Biological Laboratory 508-289-7758 eruff@mbl.edu pointOfContact asNeeded Dataset Version: 1 Unknown Polymer_name Polymer_acronym Incubation_time Unit_of_incubation_time Replicate Onset_Temperature Max_Temperature Unit_of_Temperature Shimadzu TGA-50 theme None, User defined polymer incubation time or duration month of year replicate water temperature at measurement depth featureType BCO-DMO Standard Parameters Thermogravimetric analyzer instrument BCO-DMO Standard Instruments otherRestrictions otherRestrictions Access Constraints: none. Use Constraints: Please follow guidelines at: http://www.bco-dmo.org/terms-use Distribution liability: Under no circumstances shall BCO-DMO be liable for any direct, incidental, special, consequential, indirect, or punitive damages that result from the use of, or the inability to use, the materials in this data submission. If you are dissatisfied with any materials in this data submission your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue use. EAGER: Collaborative Research: NSF2026: Is Plastic Degradation Occurring in the Deep Ocean Water Column? https://osprey.bco-dmo.org/project/855487 EAGER: Collaborative Research: NSF2026: Is Plastic Degradation Occurring in the Deep Ocean Water Column? <p><em>NSF Award Abstract:</em><br /> With support from the NSF 2026 program in the NSF Office of Integrated Activities, a team of researchers from four institutions will investigate the processes that affect plastic debris and its ultimate fate once it enters the ocean interior. Since 1950, global production of plastic has grown exponentially. An estimated 5 to 13 million metric tons of plastic flows from the land and enters the ocean each year. However, model assessment indicates that 99% or more of the plastic entering the ocean is currently unaccounted for. The goal of the project is to understand the physical modification and biochemical transformation of plastic debris by microbial communities in the mid- and deep-waters of the open ocean near Bermuda. The project directly addresses two of the top thirty-three Idea Machine entries: “Imagine a Life With Clean Oceans” and “Global Microbiome in a Changing Planet.” The investigators will deploy incubators to evaluate plastic degradation at 600 meters and 3600 meters water depth at the NSF-funded Oceanic Flux Program (OFP) mooring site. Results from this project will further understanding of the mechanistic processes that govern decomposition of plastic particles in the mid-depth (600 meters) and deeper (3600 meters) ocean, as well as the microbial communities involved with biodegradation of plastics at those depths. The results will have broad implications to the fields of ocean biogeochemistry, environmental sciences, and microbial ecology. With the deep-sea incubator deployed inline on the OFP mooring being a new method to study plastic polymer degradation processes in situ, this research contributes significantly to technology development for oceanographic research. Results from this project will also provide insights into the global budget of plastics, potentially filling the knowledge gap on the fate of plastic and thus affecting plastic management policies. Knowledge of the role of deep ocean microbial communities in the degradation of synthetic plastic polymers will be very valuable information for industry and policymakers. The collaboration of the American Chemistry Council, which is providing polymers for the project, will strengthen the cooperation between academia and industry. Education is an essential part of this project, which includes one postdoctoral researcher and multiple undergraduate students. Project results will be incorporated into undergraduate courses and communicated through outreach activities for the broader public.</p> <p>The investigators propose to test three sets of hypotheses: (1) Different polymers promote the assembly of distinct microbiomes, and these microbiomes differ between the mesopelagic and bathypelagic ocean regimes; (2) Plastics are degraded within the ocean interior, different plastic polymer types are degraded at different rates, and these rates differ between the mesopelagic and bathypelagic ocean regimes; and (3) Deep ocean microbiomes actively degrade plastics and utilize plastic polymers as a carbon source. These hypotheses will be tested deploying custom-built deep-sea incubators at 600 m and 3600 m containing well-defined plastic polymer films and fibers on the OFP mooring, located in the northern Sargasso Sea about 75 km south-east of Bermuda. The polymers deployed will represent the diversity of plastics found in the marine environment and have different stabilities against microbial degradation (e.g., polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and others). This project will combine state-of-the-art polymer chemistry analyses (pyrolysis-GCMS and Raman, and micro-FTIR) with microscopy, and lipid (GCMS and GCirMS) and nucleic acid sequencing analyses, to determine if microbial communities can degrade polymers in the deep mesopelagic and bathypelagic ocean. The results will determine if microbial communities living within the aphotic ocean interior actively degrade and utilize the synthetic carbon polymers that make up plastics, and thus play an important role in the removal of global plastics.</p> <p>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.</p> <p><em>Project Location:</em><br /> The study area of this project is the Oceanic Flux Program Site in the northern Sargasso Sea, located approximately 75 km southeast of Bermuda (31°50'N, 64°10'W).</p> <p>This NSF collaborative grant brings together an interdisciplinary research team including Principal Investigator Pedrosa Pàmies (Marine Biological Laboratory, MBL) and Co-Principal Investigators Zhanfei Liu (University of Texas at Austin, Marine Science Institute), Alexander Bochdansky (Old Dominion University), Emil Ruff (MBL), PI of MBL subaward Scott Gallagher (Coastal Ocean Vision), and collaborators Jessica Mark Welch (MBL) and Maureen Conte (Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences/MBL).</p> Deep Ocean Plastic Degradation largerWorkCitation project eng; USA oceans 2020-10-01 2022-09-01 Sargasso Sea 0 BCO-DMO catalogue of parameters from Photodegradation of macroplastics in the marine environment: Thermalgravimetric analysis Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO) Unavailable 508-289-2009 WHOI MS#36 Woods Hole MA 02543 USA info@bco-dmo.org http://www.bco-dmo.org Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm For questions regarding this resource, please contact BCO-DMO via the email address provided. pointOfContact http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/965358.rdf Name: Polymer_name Units: unitless Description: <p>Full name of polymer</p> http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/965359.rdf Name: Polymer_acronym Units: unitless Description: <p>Acronym of polymer</p> http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/965360.rdf Name: Incubation_time Units: units Description: <p>Time length of incubation experiment</p> http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/965361.rdf Name: Unit_of_incubation_time Units: unitless Description: <p>Unit of incubation time: month</p> http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/965362.rdf Name: Replicate Units: unitless Description: <p>Replicate number</p> http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/965363.rdf Name: Onset_Temperature Units: decimal degrees (°C) Description: <p>Onset degradation temperature of polymer</p> http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/965364.rdf Name: Max_Temperature Units: decimal degrees (°C) Description: <p>Maximum degradation temperature of polymer</p> http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/965365.rdf Name: Unit_of_Temperature Units: unitless Description: <p>Unit of temperature: celsius</p> GB/NERC/BODC > British Oceanographic Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, United Kingdom Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO) Unavailable 508-289-2009 WHOI MS#36 Woods Hole MA 02543 USA info@bco-dmo.org http://www.bco-dmo.org Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm For questions regarding this resource, please contact BCO-DMO via the email address provided. pointOfContact 3257 https://darchive.mblwhoilibrary.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/6b3b9f7d-f7c5-4b64-9f4d-cb9fb6d42e3d/content download https://doi.org/10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.946726.1 download onLine dataset &lt;p&gt;High-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and polycarbonate (PC) plastic sheets, as the primary plastic without weathering previously, were obtained from McMaster-Carr Supply Company (USA). These polymers were chosen because of their large-scale global production and their widespread presence in the marine environment.&amp;nbsp;The plastic sheets (122 cm × 61 cm) had a thickness of 1.6 mm. The exact formula and additive information were not provided by the vendor. However, plastic additives in various concentrations were confirmed in different plastics through Pyr-GC/MS. Plastic sheets were cut into small tabs (1.3 cm × 4.4 cm) and then cleaned with DI water and dried in a laminar-flow hood before further use.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div&gt;To simulate long-term weathering conditions in the marine environment, plastic tabs underwent a controlled experimental setup. Four plastic tabs of each polymer type were placed within a 10 cm Pyrex crystallizing dish filled with 200 mL of filtered natural seawater (1 μm spiral wound cartridge filter, Pall, USA, salinity 32 psu) and maintained at 55 °C with three replicates. Additionally, approximately 10,000 glass beads (1 mm diameter) were introduced to the dish, covering 80% of the dish’s bottom surface area, with continuous agitation provided by a rotary table (stroke length 10 cm, speed 60 rpm) to simulate the effects of physical contact with sediment particles in coastal water. UVA lighting (315–400 nm) was applied using three overhead LED UV lamps (Isuerfy, 120 W, F120W-UV-US), positioned 3 cm above the dishes, with an intensity of 230 W/m2&amp;nbsp;each, verified by a UV light meter (UV513AB, General Tools). UVA was selected due to its prevalence and deeper penetration depth over the other UV bands.&amp;nbsp;On average, the simulated UVA irradiance was approximately 50 times that of natural UVA strength, estimated at 4.5 W/m2&amp;nbsp;reaching the earth on a global average,&amp;nbsp;i.e., 3 months of continuous light exposure in this experiment equals approximately 25 years of natural diel UVA exposure in the ocean. To maintain constant salinity and water levels, distilled water was replenished every other day.&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div&gt;The plastic tabs were subsampled at four different time points:&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;T&lt;/em&gt;0&amp;nbsp;(before weathering),&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;T&lt;/em&gt;1&amp;nbsp;(3 months ≈ 25 years),&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;T&lt;/em&gt;2&amp;nbsp;(6 months ≈ 50 years), and&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;T&lt;/em&gt;3&amp;nbsp;(9 months ≈ 75 years). These time points were chosen to capture the progressive changes in the plastic tabs over the course of the weathering process. The experimental design, involving the coincubation of plastic tabs of the same polymer with agitation, posed challenges for tracking the weight change of a specific tab at a given time point. Additionally, due to incubation in seawater, effectively removing all sea salt adhered to the plastic surface through water rinsing was difficult. Thus, we did not measure the weight loss of the tabs with the exposure time.&lt;/div&gt; Specified by the Principal Investigator(s) &lt;p&gt;TGA was performed using a thermogravimetric analyzer (Shimadzu TGA-50) under a nitrogen atmosphere (50 mL/min flow rate) with three replicates for each polymer type. Briefly, the plastic tabs were cut into small pieces, and a sample weighing 5–10 mg was analyzed. The sample in a platinum pan was heated from 30 to 650 °C at a rate of 5 °C/min. TG and derivative TG (DTG) curves were recorded to assess the thermal behavior of the sample. The TG onset temperatures (&lt;em&gt;T&lt;/em&gt;onset), defined as a 3% (w/w) loss, and the DTG maximum temperatures (&lt;em&gt;T&lt;/em&gt;max) were calculated from the curve to determine the thermal stability of the plastic, following the method described by Yamada et al.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; Specified by the Principal Investigator(s) * No edits were made to this dataset Specified by BCO-DMO Data Managers asNeeded 7.x-1.1 Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO) Unavailable 508-289-2009 WHOI MS#36 Woods Hole MA 02543 USA info@bco-dmo.org http://www.bco-dmo.org Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm For questions regarding this resource, please contact BCO-DMO via the email address provided. pointOfContact Shimadzu TGA-50 Shimadzu TGA-50 PI Supplied Instrument Name: Shimadzu TGA-50 Instrument Name: Thermogravimetric analyzer Instrument Short Name: Instrument Description: A piece of apparatus, consisting of a quartz or alumina chamber, a balance, a sample pan and a heating mechanism, which is used to record the mass of a sample as a function of increasing temperature.