Articles | Volume 18, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-1-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-1-2022
Review article
 | 
04 Jan 2022
Review article |  | 04 Jan 2022

Plastics in the Indian Ocean – sources, transport, distribution, and impacts

Charitha Pattiaratchi, Mirjam van der Mheen, Cathleen Schlundt, Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy, Appalanaidu Sura, Sara Hajbane, Rachel White, Nimit Kumar, Michelle Fernandes, and Sarath Wijeratne

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Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on os-2020-127', Anonymous Referee #1, 01 Apr 2021
  • RC2: 'Comment on os-2020-127', Anonymous Referee #2, 06 Apr 2021
  • RC3: 'Comment on os-2020-127', Anonymous Referee #3, 14 Apr 2021

Peer review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload
AR by Charitha Pattiaratchi on behalf of the Authors (15 Sep 2021)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Referee Nomination & Report Request started (15 Sep 2021) by Arvind Singh
RR by Anonymous Referee #4 (29 Oct 2021)
ED: Publish subject to technical corrections (29 Oct 2021) by Arvind Singh
AR by Charitha Pattiaratchi on behalf of the Authors (22 Nov 2021)  Author's response   Manuscript 
Short summary
The Indian Ocean receives a large proportion of plastics, but very few studies have addressed the sources, transport pathways, and sinks. There is a scarcity of observational data for the Indian Ocean. Most plastic sources are derived from rivers, although the amount derived from fishing activity (ghost nets, discarded ropes) is unknown. The unique topographic features of the Indian Ocean that create the monsoons and reversing currents have a large influence on the transport and sinks.