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Evidence of Microplastics in the Mediterranean (Adriatic) Sea and the Pacific Ocean
Summary
Researchers analyzed plastic particles collected from the Mediterranean Adriatic Sea and the Pacific Ocean using Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscopy to characterize microplastic and nanoplastic contamination in both regions. The study provided physical and chemical evidence of widespread microplastic presence across geographically distinct marine environments.
The chapter concerns the problem of microplastic fragments dispersed in the sea, starting with how that material reaches the sea and how it is reduced to very small, in many cases micro- and nano-sized, dimensions. The damage that those materials cause to marine life is also illustrated. Analyses on plastic particles collected both in Italy and in Australia were performed using a Field Emission Gun Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope coupled with the X-ray microsensor of an Energy Dispersive System to assess their elemental chemical composition. The analyses show how those particles are re-inhabited by organisms such as diatoms and algae. In conclusion, the projects proposed for cleaning the seas are briefly discussed along with what the most obvious problems involving those proposals are.