Spatial-temporal growth, distribution, and diffusion of marine microplastic research and national plastic policies

Plastic accounts for 80% of material waste in the ocean. The field of marine microplastic research is relatively new and is growing rapidly, in terms of published papers as well as institutions and countries conducting research. To combat plastic pollution, there is sufficient evidence that policies can lead to reduced plastic production and consumption both locally and globally. We aim to understand how marine plastics research and policies have grown and spread. Specifically, we used scientometric and spatial diffusion methods to best explain how ideas (in this case science and policy) clustered and spread geographically through time. We performed systematic literature searches to determine the spatial and temporal growth of marine microplastic publications and national plastic policies from 1900-2019. We found that more countries adopted national plastic policies than those that have conducted marine plastic research. Doubling times of each temporal growth rate analyzed (research pap...