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Dataset: Agglutinated Sabellaria reefs as natural traps for anthropogenic pollution: first non-destructive 3D detection of embedded microplastics
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This record is a dataset, not a research study. It contains 3D scans, tube measurements, and summary files from reef fragments built by sand-tube-forming worms, used to study how microplastic particles become trapped within the structures, including dosing data on added plastic particles.
File contents Tube orientation measurements (per fragment): PlungeAzimuth_ _CC.csv / .xlsx — one file per replicate (Ctrl1–3, Exp1–3). Columns: x2,y2,z2,x1,y1,z1 = tube end-point coordinates (m); Length (m); Trend = azimuth (0–360°); Plunge = inclination from horizontal (0–90°); Nx,Ny,Nz and Nmeanx,Nmeany,Nmeanz = axial direction cosines; angle = angle used in the orientation computation. Source traced tube geometry: .dxf and _CC.dxf — traced tube polylines (CloudCompare export; "_CC" = CloudCompare-processed) from which length, trend and plunge were derived. .prj — associated coordinate/reference file for the DXF. Processed summaries: all_tubes_combined.csv — all traced tubes, all replicates, pooled. summary_length_by_replicate.csv, summary_trend_by_replicate.csv, summary_plunge_by_replicate.csv — per-replicate summary statistics. orientation_tensor_summary.csv — per-replicate orientation-tensor eigenvalues and Woodcock shape/strength (K, C) fabric parameters. Three-dimensional models: CRTL1_*.ply, CTRL2_*.ply, CTRL3_*.ply, EXP1_*.ply, EXP2_*.ply, EXP3_*.ply — structure-from-motion surface meshes of the six intact fragments (textured PLY), the source of the orientation measurements and of the fragment-scale complexity analysis reported in the paper. Microplastic dosing: T0 spiking.xlsx — microplastic particle-count and mass spiking data (PET) used to establish the exposure dose at the start of the experiment.
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Researchers found microplastics concentrated within the reef-like structures built by the tube worm Sabellaria spinulosa along the Italian Adriatic coast, with higher abundance and different particle shapes inside the bioconstruction than in the surrounding seafloor sediment. This suggests that the physical architecture of biogenic reefs can act as a trap for microplastic pollution, with potential consequences for the organisms living in and around these coastal habitats.
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