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Riverine microplastic discharge along the southern Black Sea coast of Türkiye

Environmental Research Letters 2025 19 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 58 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Kenan Gedik, Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Ahmet Raif Eryaşar, Ahmet Raif Eryaşar, Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Rafet Çağrı Öztürk, Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Yahya Terzi̇, Yahya Terzi̇, Yahya Terzi̇, Yahya Terzi̇, Yahya Terzi̇, Yahya Terzi̇, Yahya Terzi̇, Sedat Gündoğdu Kenan Gedik, Kenan Gedik, Kenan Gedik, Kenan Gedik, Kenan Gedik, Kenan Gedik, Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Ahmet Raif Eryaşar, Ahmet Raif Eryaşar, Sedat Gündoğdu Yahya Terzi̇, Kenan Gedik, Sedat Gündoğdu Ahmet Raif Eryaşar, Sedat Gündoğdu Ahmet Raif Eryaşar, Sedat Gündoğdu Ahmet Raif Eryaşar, Yahya Terzi̇, Kenan Gedik, Kenan Gedik, Sedat Gündoğdu Kenan Gedik, Ahmet Raif Eryaşar, Sedat Gündoğdu Rafet Çağrı Öztürk, Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Rafet Çağrı Öztürk, Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Rafet Çağrı Öztürk, Kenan Gedik, Ahmet Raif Eryaşar, Sedat Gündoğdu Kenan Gedik, Kenan Gedik, Kenan Gedik, Kenan Gedik, Sedat Gündoğdu Yahya Terzi̇, Ahmet Raif Eryaşar, Yahya Terzi̇, Sedat Gündoğdu Rafet Çağrı Öztürk, Ahmet Şahin, Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Ahmet Raif Eryaşar, Ahmet Raif Eryaşar, Ahmet Raif Eryaşar, Ahmet Raif Eryaşar, Ahmet Raif Eryaşar, Ahmet Raif Eryaşar, Ahmet Raif Eryaşar, Kenan Gedik, Yahya Terzi̇, Yahya Terzi̇, Yahya Terzi̇, Yahya Terzi̇, Kenan Gedik, Kenan Gedik, Kenan Gedik, Kenan Gedik, Kenan Gedik, Kenan Gedik, Kenan Gedik, Kenan Gedik, Kenan Gedik, Kenan Gedik, Rafet Çağrı Öztürk, Sedat Gündoğdu Rafet Çağrı Öztürk, Sedat Gündoğdu Rafet Çağrı Öztürk, Rafet Çağrı Öztürk, Rafet Çağrı Öztürk, İlhan Yandı, İlhan Yandı, İlhan Yandı, Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Ahmet Şahin, Kenan Gedik, Ahmet Şahin, Ahmet Şahin, Ahmet Şahin, Ahmet Şahin, Ahmet Şahin, Kenan Gedik, Sedat Gündoğdu Fatih Yılmaz, Rafet Çağrı Öztürk, Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Kenan Gedik, Rafet Çağrı Öztürk, Rafet Çağrı Öztürk, Fatih Yılmaz, Fatih Yılmaz, Fatih Yılmaz, Ahmet Şahin, Rafet Çağrı Öztürk, Rafet Çağrı Öztürk, Fatih Yılmaz, Fatih Yılmaz, Rafet Çağrı Öztürk, Kenan Gedik, Sedat Gündoğdu Kenan Gedik, Sedat Gündoğdu Kenan Gedik, Kenan Gedik, Sedat Gündoğdu Rafet Çağrı Öztürk, Sedat Gündoğdu Sedat Gündoğdu Kenan Gedik, Sedat Gündoğdu

Summary

Researchers sampled 29 rivers flowing into the southern Black Sea coast of Turkey and found microplastics present in all of them, with an average concentration of about 9.6 particles per cubic meter. Polypropylene and polyethylene were the most common types, and fibers were the dominant shape, likely originating from textile and domestic wastewater. The study highlights that rivers are a significant pathway for microplastic pollution entering the Black Sea.

Polymers

PE PET PP

Study Type Environmental

Abstract Rivers are critical pathways of microplastic (MP) pollution to marine environments, yet their contributions to the Black Sea remain understudied. This study evaluates the abundance and characteristics (polymer composition, shape, size, and color) of MPs discharged from 29 rivers flowing into the southern Black Sea. Using a plankton net with a 200 μ m mesh size, samples were collected from river mouths, revealing an average MP abundance of 9.63 ± 1.27 MP m −3 , ranging from 1.03 to 29.8 MP m −3 . Eastern Black Sea rivers exhibited significantly higher MP levels (11.0 ± 1.57 MP m −3 ) compared to western rivers (5.15 ± 1.25 MP m −3 ). Annual MP discharge to the Black Sea was estimated at 1.49 × 10 11 particles. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET, 59.3% ± 2.66%), polyethylene (PE, 20.8% ± 2.04%), and polypropylene (PP, 14.1% ± 2.36%) were the most common polymers, with PET and PE being significantly dominant. MP sizes ranged predominantly between 200–1000 μ m, and fibers constituted the majority of shapes (64.1%), followed by fragments (28.3%). White (36.8% ± 1.93%) and transparent (30.9% ± 2.39%) MPs were the most prevalent colors. While no significant differences in MP characteristics were detected between basins (NMDS and ANOSIM), this study emphasizes rivers as major pathways for MP pollution in the Black Sea. These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted mitigation strategies to safeguard marine ecosystems and biodiversity.

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