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Microplastics in Sediments from a Sandy Beach in Costa Nova (Aveiro, Portugal)
Summary
Researchers collected and characterized microplastics from sediments at a sandy beach in Costa Nova, Portugal, finding a variety of polymer types and particle shapes. The study documents microplastic accumulation in a European Atlantic coastal environment and provides baseline contamination data.
The main objective of this study is to perform an approximation on the microplastic pollution on a sandy beach in Costa Nova (Portugal), focused on longitudinal and cross-sectional transects. The results showed a scarce variability in data, with median concentrations ranging from 142 to 356 p/kg d.w. and 211 to 270 p/kg d.w. in cross-sectional and longitudinal transects, respectively. The predominant morphology was microspheres, which accounted for more than 90% in all samples analysed, whereas the most abundant microplastics were <200 µm in size. Microplastic contamination was higher than in other Portuguese beaches despite the moderate–low touristic pressure in Costa Nova, which led us to consider the intense commercial activity of the nearby port and the Canary and Portuguese currents as possible drivers of microplastic pollution in this area. However, this study highlights the disparity in data caused by different methodologies used when similar areas are analysed.