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Evidence of Microplastics in the Mediterranean (Adriatic) Sea and the Pacific Ocean
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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.
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This study analyzed floating microplastic distribution across open and coastal waters of the southern Baltic Sea, finding widespread contamination with variation in particle types and concentrations across the region. The findings add to growing evidence that microplastics are a persistent and pervasive marine pollutant.
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Researchers characterized microplastic distribution in marine sediments along the Montenegrin coast, providing the first assessment of microplastic pollution status in this understudied region of the Adriatic Sea.
Microplastics in the Mediterranean Sea: Deposition in coastal shallow sediments, spatial variation and preferential grain size
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Environmental implications of microplastic pollution in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean
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Researchers assessed microplastic concentrations, distribution, and characteristics across the Northwestern Pacific Ocean, finding widespread contamination with significant spatial variation and identifying environmental implications for marine ecosystems in this understudied region.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.