Plastics in Coastal and Marine Environments

Plastics in Coastal and Marine Environments: A Global Crisis is the first foundational reference book focused on plastics and their impacts on coasts and oceans. Plastic litter is one of the most pervasive and fastest-growing anthropogenic alterations of the world's coasts and oceans and its magnitude, distribution, and collateral effects have been suggested as a geological indicator of the Anthropocene stage and specifically of the Plasticene age. The chapters of the book are arranged to follow a narrative that will allow readers to understand the plastic problem in coastal and marine environments. The book begins with the invention of plastics and finishes with their indelible mark on Earth through new types of rocks generated by plastic production and use (the Plasticene era). It concludes with possible strategies to tackle the inexorable rising of plastic litter in coastal and marine environments. Combining core theory and diverse strategies and case studies, Plastics in Coastal and Marine Environments: A Global Crisis is an essential reference for researchers in oceanographers, geology, and biologists - Includes global, multidisciplinary case studies - Covers the entire lifecycle of plastic and its impacts - Presents a novel chapter about Plastics in the Geologic Record