Marine Plastic Pollution in Australian Waters from Surface Net Tows

Data from 2013 characterises marine plastics and estimates their concentration in waters around Australia. The marine plastics recorded were predominantly small fragments (microplastics) resulting from the breakdown of larger polyethylene and polypropylene objects. This data accompanies a 2013 publication in PLoS ONE.

Use Cases

• Estimate microplastic concentration in marine environments based on surface net tow data.
• Analyze the characteristics of plastic fragments (e.g., polymer type) found in Australian waters.
• Model pollution pathways for marine plastics based on the associated publication's findings.
• Study the breakdown of common plastic items like packaging and fishing gear into microplastics.

Strengths

• Data is linked to a peer-reviewed 2013 publication in PLoS ONE, providing scientific context.
• Focuses on a specific pollution type (microplastics) and geographic area (waters around Australia).
• Describes the predominant polymer types (polyethylene and polypropylene) of the recorded plastics.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data freshness should be verified; the last metadata update is listed as 2026-07-13.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Collected from surface net tows.

Time Range

Associated with a 2013 publication; specific collection period not stated.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-13 20:34:47.118060; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Waters around Australia.