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Airborne and marine microplastics and atmospheric context measurements at the Maldives Climate Observatory Hanimaadhoo and adjacent coastal waters, January–February 2023
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Scientists sampled air and seawater near the Maldives to track tiny plastic particles (microplastics) floating in our environment, using pollution markers like black carbon (soot) to figure out where the plastics come from and how they travel. The key insight is that airborne and ocean microplastics seem to follow different paths, meaning the plastic you breathe in may come from different sources than the plastic in seafood or water. This matters because understanding these pathways is a crucial first step toward figuring out how humans are exposed to microplastics and what can be done to reduce that exposure.
This dataset underpins the manuscript “Airborne and marine microplastics in the Northern Indian Ocean: decoupled pathways traced by black carbon”. It contains observations collected during a field campaign conducted in January–February 2023 at the Maldives Climate Observatory Hanimaadhoo and in adjacent coastal waters of the Maldives. The repository comprises seven comma-separated data files. The airborne microplastic data include concentration results for 46 environmental samples and two laboratory blanks, together with a catalogue of 158 identified particles containing their dimensions, morphology, colour, and assigned material. Samples 11 and 12 are laboratory blanks and are explicitly excluded from environmental concentration statistics. The marine microplastic data contain sample-specific concentrations from 15 seawater sampling stations and a catalogue of 663 identified particles. Particle dimensions are reported in micrometres and number concentrations in particles per cubic metre. Particles with lengths of at least 5000 micrometres are retained for transparency and identified. The atmospheric context data comprise nominal half-hourly measurements of equivalent black carbon at 880 nm obtained using an AE33 Aethalometer, aerosol light-scattering coefficients at 450, 550, and 700 nm obtained using a TSI Model 3563 integrating nephelometer, and wind speed and wind direction. Equivalent black carbon is reported in micrograms per cubic metre, scattering coefficients in inverse megametres, wind speed in metres per second, and wind direction in degrees. Timestamps are expressed in Coordinated Universal Time using the ISO 8601 format. Missing or quality-controlled values are represented by NaN, and no interpolation was applied. The deposited files contain the processed data used to calculate and validate the results reported in the manuscript. Prof. Örjan Gustafsson retains ownership of the underlying raw aethalometer and nephelometer data. For access to more detailed raw microplastic data and original microplastic images, please contact dr Piotr Markuszewski at pmarkusz@iopan.pl.
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Airborne and marine microplastics and atmospheric context measurements at the Maldives Climate Observatory Hanimaadhoo and adjacent coastal waters, January–February 2023
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Scientists measured tiny plastic particles floating in the air and ocean water near the Maldives, a remote island chain in the Indian Ocean, and tracked pollution markers like soot to figure out where these particles come from. The findings suggest that airborne and ocean microplastics don't necessarily travel the same paths, meaning the air we breathe and the seafood we eat could be picking up plastic pollution from different sources. This matters because it helps researchers pinpoint where microplastic contamination originates, which is a key step toward understanding our exposure risks and eventually reducing them.
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