Distribution of microplastics in saltmarshes

As a rising global pollution issue, microplastics have been discovered in every major environment around the world. Marine and coastal ecosystems are often highlighted for the presence and impacts of plastic pollution; however, saltmarshes are a relatively understudied habitat. With potential for high particle accumulation through vegetative trapping effects trapping, and ideal environmental conditions for macroplastic degradation, even remote natural saltmarshes could be unknown hotspots for microplastics. The potential to have naturally occurring high concentrations of microplastics makes salt marshes ideal habitats for studying their potential impacts on fauna, flora and sediments. With little literature on the subject, my project hopes to begin by assessing the distribution of microplastics in a saltmarsh, creating both spatial and temporal profiles. By measuring amounts of microplastic across the marsh, we can then highlight key zones, and potential species, which are the most likely to be impacted. This will be combined with a macroplastic survey, allowing us to assess plastic distribution across the marsh and thus inform future plastic-based studies and local policy decisions. Spatial distribution will be determined from a series of 100 soil core samples taken from 4 transects across 5 different vegetation zones in the marsh. Further samples will be collected to look at a temporal profile of microplastics vs soil depth, as well as comparison samples with more polluted marshes and non-marsh habitats. Finally, macroplastic surveying will be carried out through aerial drone imaging, trialling out the effectiveness of new AI based plastic identification programs in non-ideal vegetated habitats. Also see: https://micro2022.sciencesconf.org/426642/document