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Microplastic Pollution in the Coast of Tarragona
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Students and educators in Tarragona, Spain conducted a citizen science study measuring microplastic concentrations in coastal seawater and beach sand. The study found microplastics at all sampling sites, demonstrating that even relatively less industrialized Mediterranean coastal areas face significant microplastic pollution.
The Institut Rambla Prim, in collaboration with the Institut-Escola del Treball of Barcelona, conducted a study on marine microplastics present in the seawater along the coast of Tarragona (Balearic Sea, Western Mediterranean), specifically in the towns of l'Ampolla and Altafulla, as well as in the sand of Altafulla beach. The study involved collecting water samples using the passive filtering prototype SB-Buoy, analyzing them in the laboratory, and manually sieving the beach sand, as a citizen science project conducted by students and teachers from professional degrees. The concentrations observed varied considerably depending on the sampling locations and periods. Significant preliminary results should be highlighted: tiny microplastics dominate the samples from seawater (Ø < 3 mm), and plastic pellets in the sand accounted for 52% of the anthropogenic waste by weight in the sampling area.
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Microplastic Pollution in the Coast of Tarragona, Spain: A Western Mediterranean Study
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Researchers, including students as part of a citizen science project, collected and analyzed water and sand samples along the Tarragona coast of Spain, finding that tiny microplastics under 3mm dominated sea water samples and that plastic pellets — called nurdles — made up over half the anthropogenic waste by weight found in beach sand. The study highlights significant microplastic contamination in a Western Mediterranean coastal zone.
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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.