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Abundance, distribution and characteristics of microplastics in the North and South Atlantic Ocean
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Researchers surveyed microplastic abundance across six major ocean current regions in the Atlantic Ocean, from the Netherlands to Uruguay, using 50 surface trawls. They found an overall concentration of 0.011 particles per cubic meter, with abundance significantly correlated to distance from the coast, and high-density polyethylene and polypropylene fragments being the dominant types. The study provides valuable baseline data from consistently under-sampled regions, particularly the South Atlantic.
Microplastics are both pervasive in the marine environment and highly detrimental to it. In this study, we investigate the abundance, distribution, and characteristics of microplastics in surface waters on a transect spanning 6 major ocean current regions in the Atlantic Ocean from Scheveningen (the Netherlands) to Montevideo (Uruguay). 50 surface trawls were completed with a manta net (mesh 500 μm, cod 333 μm) and particles were analyzed in the laboratory including polymer type identification with ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. An overall abundance of 0.011 ± 0.017 items/m3 was found with a significant correlation between microplastic abundance and distance to coast. The dominant polymer types were HD-PE (63.5 %) and PP (28.3 %), shape was fragments (88.6 %), and color was white (59.1 %). We conclude that this study's findings reaffirm the widespread presence of microplastic pollution in the Atlantic Ocean, contributing data from consistently under-sampled regions such as the South Atlantic.
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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.