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Relationships between sediment size distribution and microplastic abundance and characteristics along the strandline of a sandy embayment (Whitsand, Southwest England)

Marine Pollution Bulletin 2025 5 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 53 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Oliver J Fenn, Oliver J Fenn, Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Edward J Walklett, Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Edward J Walklett, Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner

Summary

Researchers analyzed the relationship between sediment characteristics and microplastic distribution along a beach in southwest England. They found that microplastic abundance and type varied significantly across the strandline, with larger microplastics being more prevalent in coarser sediments. The study provides evidence that local sediment dynamics play an important role in determining where microplastics accumulate on sandy beaches.

Study Type Environmental

Beach sediments taken from 1 m<sup>2</sup> areas of strandline across an embayment in southwest England (Whitsand) have been analysed for grain size distribution and elemental content. Large (1-5 mm) and small (< 1 mm) microplastics were isolated by sieving and flotation in NaBr solution, respectively, and characterised by size, shape, colour and polymeric makeup. Sediments displayed varying median diameters and degrees of sorting but distributions were always positively skewed. Concentrations of Fe, K, Mn and Ti were relatively invariant, but Ca concentrations exhibited heterogeneous distributions across the bay. Large microplastics were largely composed of polyolefin-based pre-production pellets, bio-beads and fragments whose numbers were correlated with each other. Positive and inverse relationships between beads and sediment skewness and sorting, respectively, suggests that deposition of this type of plastic is favoured where sediment is well-sorted and contains a high proportion of fine material. Small microplastics were dominated by fragments and fibres <200 μm in size composed of a broader array of polymers (including epoxy resin, polyetherimide and polyvinyl alcohol). Fibres exhibited an inverse relationship with bead and pellet abundance but there was no evidence of dependency on grain size distribution, and their presence is attributed to entrapment in interstitial spaces between sediment grains. Compositional differences between large (1-5 mm) and small (< 1 mm) microplastic fragments suggests they are derived from different sources, with the former coupled with pellet and bead deposition and the latter small enough to be retained in interstitial spaces with fibres. However, a positive relationship between mean (small) fragment size and median sediment diameter suggests that their retention is more constrained by interstitial space than fibres. The study provides evidence that microplastics of different size and shape behave differently but are, ultimately, related to or controlled by sediment size distribution in the coastal littoral zone.

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