In March 2022 the CUPIDO project team embarked on the Italian research vessel Dallaporta in the Adriatic Sea to deploy a novel device measuring in-situ plastic degradation. The Ocean Plastic Incubator Chamber (OPIC) exposes various polymers to oceanic conditions over time. Lots of discarded plastic ends up in the ocean where it remains for a long time. Although marine plastics are persistent pollutants they do gradually erode through continuous buffeting by currents, exposure to light, and biodegradation by microorganisms. As this weathering alters plastic properties - including colour, buoyancy, and toxicity - it may affect how plastic pervades marine ecosystems. Laboratory experiments investigating marine plastics typically use clean and pristine plastic samples but, due to weathering, these differ from oceanic samples. OPIC, now attached to a permanent mooring line at a depth of 250 metres, will expose pre-selected plastic debris to real-world oceanic conditions. Acquiring such data will enable us to estimate the age of plastics sampled from the ocean and the rate at which weathering alters properties of pristine plastics.
