standOff, and the article is at its publisher via the link below. When we have changed our mind. Some entries in the table begin with a word in capitals and the reason for it. EVIDENCE CORRECTED — the finding still stands, but we had quoted the wrong sentence from the paper, and the quotation has been replaced with the right one. RETRACTED — the entry itself was wrong; it stays on the page, marked, with the reason, rather than being deleted. WITHDRAWN AND REPLACED — the entry was wrong, and a corrected version of it appears in the entries below. Each mark carries its own reason, in brackets, because the reasons differ from one entry to the next. An entry we have WITHDRAWN is removed from this page and kept in the record, with its reason. A line reading Audit and a date is a later re-reading of the entry against its whole sentence: DOUBTFUL means it was kept, and the reason says what is loose about it. Quotation marks inside the tagger's sentence. Where a tag is the tagger's own sentence, a phrase in quotation marks inside it is borrowed from the paper — the tagger's wording around it is not. The paper's own sentence is the evidence quote for that row; on this page it is withheld with the article, and the article is at its publisher. Nothing inside quotation marks anywhere on this page is ours: if it is quoted, it is the paper's. Whose words a concept carries. A concept entry records a term the paper itself uses, so the term, the sense given for it, and its evidence are the paper's own words, quoted where the paper fixes them. This is the opposite of a sense entry in the tag table, which is the tagger's sentence about how the paper uses a term. Where a concept entry could not be grounded in the paper's words, the entry says so on its own row.| second reading | alternatives | an independent re-reading of a facet, recorded whether or not it agrees |
| relation to other work | claim_relations | how this paper stands to another: agrees, contradicts, extends, qualifies |
| claim type | claim_type | the shape of the claim: existence, mechanism, method, critique, prediction, null |
| concept edge | concept_edges | an asserted relation between two concepts, with the sentence asserting it |
| concept | concepts | an idea the paper works with, quoted where the paper uses it |
| content tag | content_tags | a finding, definition, quantity, statistic or variable named in the paper |
| contribution | contribution | what the paper claims to add |
| control | controls | an experiment run to eliminate a rival explanation |
| limitation | limitations | what the paper says its evidence cannot support |
| mechanism | mechanisms | how the reported effect is said to come about |
| method | method | how the paper produced its evidence |
| object of study | object_of_study | what the paper is about — the thing it investigates |
| phenomenon | phenomenon | the effect or regularity under study |
| research question | research_question | the question the paper sets itself |
| sense | senses | a distinct use of a term, quoted where the paper fixes it |
| transfer | transfers | a method or concept carried in from another field |
Relations on this page carry a quotation for the claim. Where a relation was separately evidenced — and so tested against the vocabulary for its type — the row says so; none of 2 relations here carry that mark. The rest are the tagger’s reading of the sentence quoted beside them.
| facet | tag | field | conf. | whose words |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| object_of_study | the count and weight of plastic particles floating at the surface of the world's oceans, in four size classes Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | object_of_study | the paper's words | |
| research_question | how much plastic is afloat in the world's oceans, and whether the size distribution matches what fragmentation of larger items predicts Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | research_question | the paper's words | |
| contribution | a global estimate across all four size classes - at least 5.25 trillion particles weighing 268,940 tons - and the finding that microplastics are an order of magnitude scarcer than fragmentation predicts Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | contribution | the paper's words | |
| claim_type | existence Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | claim_type | the paper's words | |
| phenomenon | differential loss of small microplastics from the sea surface Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | phenomenon | the paper's words | |
| method | field-study Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. also in: field-study | method | the paper's words | |
| mechanisms | UV degradation, biodegradation, ingestion by organisms, loss of buoyancy from fouling, entrainment in settling detritus and beaching all take small particles out of the sampled layer Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. also in: removal from the sea surface | mechanisms[0] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| mechanisms | brittle microplastics may break down faster than they are replaced, into particles smaller than the 0.33 mm mesh, so they leave the measurement rather than the ocean Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. also in: fragmentation below the mesh | mechanisms[1] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| mechanisms | as a particle shrinks its surface-area-to-volume ratio rises sharply and oxidation increases, so microbial degradation accelerates at exactly the sizes that are missing Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. also in: size-dependent biodegradation | mechanisms[2] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| limitations | the fragmentation accounting assumes the system is near equilibrium, and inputs and outputs of ocean plastic are unknown Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | limitations[0] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| limitations | the estimates are conservative and should be read as minima; macroplastic rests on a limited inventory of observations Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | limitations[1] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| limitations | plastic on shorelines, on the seabed, in the water column and inside organisms is not counted at all Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | limitations[2] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| limitations | where the missing plastic goes is left open - the paper closes on the question rather than an answer Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | limitations[3] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| transfers | the surface-area-to-volume argument, taken from microbial ecology to explain why the smallest particles vanish fastest Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | transfers[0] | 0.85 | the tagger's words |
| controls | conservative weights assigned to the two catch-all visual-survey categories Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. eliminates: an unweighted catch-all category dominating a global mass estimate through the items nobody could identify · outcome: held | controls[0] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| controls | fragmentation parameters chosen so the predicted particle counts are under-stated rather than over-stated Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. eliminates: a fragmentation model tuned until it produced the particle count the survey found - the bias is set to under-state on purpose, so agreement cannot be manufactured · outcome: held | controls[1] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| controls | correction for wind-driven vertical mixing carrying particles below the sampled layer Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. eliminates: surface sampling being read as total abundance when wind drives particles below the sampled layer · outcome: held | controls[2] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| controls | the global microplastic estimate checked against two independent published estimates Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. eliminates: a global estimate resting on one team's method with no independent magnitude to check it against · outcome: held | controls[3] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| controls | an accounting of plastic on shorelines, on the seabed, in the water column and within organisms Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. eliminates: plastic that is not floating at the surface - shorelines, seabed, water column and organisms are outside the estimate, so the total is a count of one compartment presented against a question about the ocean · outcome: absent-declared-unreported | controls[4] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| concepts | microplastic Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. also in: microplastic | concepts[0] | 0.95 | the paper's words |
| concepts | mesoplastic Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. also in: mesoplastic | concepts[1] | 0.95 | the paper's words |
| concepts | Macroplastic Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. also in: Macroplastic | concepts[2] | 0.95 | the paper's words |
| concepts | neuston net Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. also in: neuston net | concepts[3] | 0.95 | the paper's words |
| concepts | fragmentation Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. also in: fragmentation | concepts[4] | 0.95 | the paper's words |
| concepts | vertical distribution Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. also in: vertical distribution | concepts[5] | 0.85 | the paper's words |
| concepts | ultimate sink Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. also in: ultimate sink | concepts[6] | 0.95 | the paper's words |
| concepts | sea surface Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. also in: sea surface | concepts[7] | 0.95 | the paper's words |
| senses | the prefixes micro, meso and macro are POORLY DEFINED in this field - stated by the authors Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | senses[0] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| senses | microplastic upper bound = 4.75 mm BECAUSE IT IS A STANDARD SIEVE SIZE, not a property of plastic Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | senses[1] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| senses | mesoplastic upper bound = 200 mm BECAUSE THAT IS A TYPICAL PLASTIC WATER BOTTLE Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | senses[2] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| senses | macroplastic lower bound = 200 mm, set by this paper because the field has no established one Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | senses[3] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| senses | the boundaries are LOGISTIC rather than conceptual - net and sieve sizes - and are declared as such Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | senses[4] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| senses | the field's generally accepted lower bound, 0.33 mm, is a neuston net's mesh opening Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | senses[5] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| alternatives | claim_type: existence Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. a second reading reaching the same value. Recorded: existence — note: A BLIND second reading by the project on 2026-08-25: the record's own claim type/method/phenomenon were not looked at until every value here was written and substring-verified. Not applied - a person decides. Sampling frame: the 504 staged records carrying no alternatives block, so this never re-measures the 202. All 11 records with 130+ tags were taken as a census and 19 more spread one per discipline across 22 disciplines - the dense non-neuroscience cell is the one the 202 do not contain (inside them, 94-100% of the densest bands are neuroscience; among these 11, one is)., | alternatives.claim_type | 0.85 | the tagger's words |
| alternatives | method: field-survey Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. a second reading DIFFERING from the recorded value. Recorded: field-study — note: A BLIND second reading by the project on 2026-08-25: the record's own claim type/method/phenomenon were not looked at until every value here was written and substring-verified. Not applied - a person decides. Sampling frame: the 504 staged records carrying no alternatives block, so this never re-measures the 202. All 11 records with 130+ tags were taken as a census and 19 more spread one per discipline across 22 disciplines - the dense non-neuroscience cell is the one the 202 do not contain (inside them, 94-100% of the densest bands are neuroscience; among these 11, one is)., | alternatives.method | 0.8 | the tagger's words |
| alternatives | phenomenon: the abundance and total weight of plastic floating in the world's oceans Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. a second reading DIFFERING from the recorded value. Recorded: differential loss of small microplastics from the sea surface — note: A BLIND second reading by the project on 2026-08-25: the record's own claim type/method/phenomenon were not looked at until every value here was written and substring-verified. Not applied - a person decides. Sampling frame: the 504 staged records carrying no alternatives block, so this never re-measures the 202. All 11 records with 130+ tags were taken as a census and 19 more spread one per discipline across 22 disciplines - the dense non-neuroscience cell is the one the 202 do not contain (inside them, 94-100% of the densest bands are neuroscience; among these 11, one is)., | alternatives.phenomenon | 0.85 | the tagger's words |
| claim_relations | confirms → an independent study reporting a large discrepancy between expected and observed microplastic Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. note: the agreement is used as support for the hypothesis, not merely as a consistency check | claim_relations[0] | the tagger's words | |
| concept_edges | mesoplastic —distinct-from→ Macroplastic Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. differs in: the 200 mm boundary, chosen as a typical plastic water bottle · strength of the relation: 0.95 also in: mesoplastic · Macroplastic | concept_edges[1] | the tagger's words | |
| concept_edges | fragmentation —causes→ microplastic Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. direction on the measure: increases · strength of the relation: 0.95
Audit 2026-09-28: DOUBTFUL - read against its full span and kept, but the span writes 'fragments resulting from the breakdown of larger plastic items', not 'fragmentation'. also in: fragmentation · microplastic | concept_edges[2] | the tagger's words | |
| content_tags | microplastics are an order of magnitude scarcer than conservative fragmentation estimates predict Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | content_tags.findings[0] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| content_tags | the smallest microplastics are LESS abundant than larger ones, the opposite of what fragmentation implies, in every region but the South Pacific Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | content_tags.findings[1] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| content_tags | the sea surface is likely not the ultimate sink for ocean plastic Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | content_tags.findings[2] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| content_tags | microplastic Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. also in: microplastic | content_tags.definitions[0] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| content_tags | Mesoplastic Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. also in: Mesoplastic | content_tags.definitions[1] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| content_tags | Macroplastic Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. also in: Macroplastic | content_tags.definitions[2] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| content_tags | at least 5.25 trillion plastic particles weighing 268,940 tons afloat — None Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | content_tags.quantities[0] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| content_tags | 75.4% macroplastic, 11.4% mesoplastic, 10.6% and 2.6% in the two microplastic classes, by weight — None Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | content_tags.quantities[1] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| content_tags | 233,400 tons of larger items against 35,540 tons of microplastics — None Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | content_tags.quantities[2] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| content_tags | 288 million tons of plastic produced worldwide in 2012; the floating estimate is 0.1% of it — None Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | content_tags.quantities[3] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| content_tags | 4.75 mm, the microplastic upper boundary, taken from standard sieve sizes — None Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | content_tags.quantities[4] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| content_tags | 0.33 mm, the field's lower boundary, taken from neuston net mesh — None Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | content_tags.quantities[5] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| content_tags | an order of magnitude between expected and data-calibrated microplastic counts Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | content_tags.statistics[0] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| content_tags | same order of magnitude agreement with independent estimates Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. | content_tags.statistics[1] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| content_tags | weight Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. also in: weight | content_tags.variables[0] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
| content_tags | particles Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above. also in: particles | content_tags.variables[1] | 0.95 | the tagger's words |
Tags that could not be placed in the text:
What was deliberately not tagged, and why, is recorded per paper by the tagger. Where a paper has no such record, this page says so rather than implying that nothing was declined.