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Abundance and composition of small floating plastics in the eastern and southern sectors of the Atlantic Ocean

Marine Pollution Bulletin 2023 19 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 45 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Giuseppe Suaria, Stefano Aliani, Stefano Aliani, Giuseppe Suaria, Peter G. Ryan Peter G. Ryan Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Stefano Aliani, Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Peter G. Ryan Peter G. Ryan Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Peter G. Ryan Peter G. Ryan Peter G. Ryan Paolo Cappa, Vonica Perold, Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Stefano Aliani, Giuseppe Suaria, Stefano Aliani, Giuseppe Suaria, Stefano Aliani, Peter G. Ryan Vonica Perold, Giuseppe Suaria, Peter G. Ryan Vonica Perold, Paolo Cappa, Vonica Perold, Vonica Perold, Giuseppe Suaria, Stefano Aliani, Stefano Aliani, Vonica Perold, Vonica Perold, Peter G. Ryan Vonica Perold, Vonica Perold, Vonica Perold, Peter G. Ryan Giuseppe Suaria, Peter G. Ryan Peter G. Ryan Stefano Aliani, Stefano Aliani, Peter G. Ryan Giuseppe Suaria, Stefano Aliani, Stefano Aliani, Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Stefano Aliani, Peter G. Ryan Stefano Aliani, Stefano Aliani, Peter G. Ryan Stefano Aliani, Stefano Aliani, Stefano Aliani, Stefano Aliani, Stefano Aliani, Giuseppe Suaria, Peter G. Ryan Peter G. Ryan Stefano Aliani, Peter G. Ryan Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Stefano Aliani, Peter G. Ryan Stefano Aliani, Peter G. Ryan Stefano Aliani, Stefano Aliani, Stefano Aliani, Stefano Aliani, Peter G. Ryan Peter G. Ryan Stefano Aliani, Stefano Aliani, Stefano Aliani, Stefano Aliani, Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Stefano Aliani, Stefano Aliani, Stefano Aliani, Stefano Aliani, Peter G. Ryan Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Giuseppe Suaria, Stefano Aliani, Stefano Aliani, Peter G. Ryan Giuseppe Suaria, Peter G. Ryan Peter G. Ryan Giuseppe Suaria, Stefano Aliani, Peter G. Ryan

Summary

Researchers sampled floating plastics in the eastern and southern Atlantic Ocean during two research cruises and found microplastics in 69% of net tows, with secondary microplastics dominant and median densities of 1,583 items per square kilometer.

Study Type Environmental

We report the distribution of floating plastics in the eastern and southern sectors of the Atlantic Ocean based on 35 neuston net trawl samples collected during two research cruises in 2016 and 2017. Plastic particles (>200 μm) were found in 69% of net tows, with median densities of 1583 items·km and 5.1 g·km. Most particles (80% of 158) were microplastics (<5 mm) of secondary origin (88%), followed by industrial pellets (5%), thin plastic films (4%) and lines/filaments (3%). Due to the large mesh size we used, textile fibers were not considered in this study. μFTIR analysis revealed that most particles found in the net were made of polyethylene (63%), followed by polypropylene (32%) and polystyrene (1%). A transect between 0 and 18°E along 35°S in the South Atlantic Ocean revealed higher densities farther west, supporting the accumulation of floating plastics in the South Atlantic gyre, mainly west of 10°E.

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