The discovery of microplastics
Nearly two decades of world-leading research into the effects of marine plastics on our environment by Plymouth researchers, led by Professor Richard Thompson OBE, has resulted in repeated scientific breakthroughs which has influenced national and international legislation.
In 2004, the University first described the presence of microplastics in the marine environment, when in a seminal paper published in the journal Science, Professor Thompson and his team showed there had been rising levels of microscopic plastic debris evident in the plankton record since the 1960s.
This inspired a new field of scientific enquiry, with Professor Thompson and his team at the very forefront. They were the first to show the global distribution of microplastics, including in the Arctic and the deep ocean. The first to highlight the ingestion of microplastics by fish and other marine life. Plus, the first to show the role textiles and wastewater play in their source and transmission – with a single wash of clothing releasing more than 700,000 microfibers; and how some facial scrubs could contain up to 2.8 million microbeads.
This ground-breaking research and subsequent policy impact on microplastics pollution in the oceans has once again been recognised – this time with the highest honour that can be bestowed upon a higher education institution – a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education.
It is the third time that the University has been honoured with a Queen’s Anniversary Prize which celebrate excellence, innovation and public benefit. The last occasion was in 2012 when the University was recognised for the breadth and excellence of its marine and maritime research, teaching and training.