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Comprehensive Review regarding the Profile of the Microplastic Pollution in the Coastal Area of the Black Sea
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This literature review profiled microplastic pollution across the Black Sea, summarizing contamination levels in water, sediment, and seafood consumed by coastal populations. The Black Sea's unique hydrodynamics and heavy riverine inputs create hotspots for microplastic accumulation, with seafood contamination posing direct human exposure concerns.
Lately, the interest in researching microplastics in the Black Sea has increased, highlighting areas of accumulation in which the amounts of microplastics are alarming, such as seafood consumed by the population. The Black Sea has special characteristics in terms of currents and wave dynamics that create opportunities for the accumulation of microplastics in hotspot points, such as in the context of large rivers discharge that contains large amounts of pollutants and new sources of contamination. This article offers a literature-based profile on plastic pollution in the Black Sea—pollution that originates in the discharge of large rivers, transportation, and other economic activities, even the COVID-19 pandemic—in order to highlight “microplastic hotspots” before the current political crisis that directly involves the Black Sea worsens.
More Papers Like This
Microplastic Pollution Profile in the Black Sea Region
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Researchers reviewed 100 peer-reviewed articles to create a comprehensive pollution profile of microplastics in the Black Sea region. They found that microplastics have been documented across multiple environmental compartments in the region, with plastic products from various industrial sectors contributing to contamination. The review provides an overview of the current state of knowledge on microplastic distribution and sources specific to this ecologically important semi-enclosed sea.
Microplastic contamination and characteristics spatially vary in the southern Black Sea beach sediment and sea surface water
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Microplastic abundance and characteristics were assessed along the southern Black Sea coastline, finding that over 70% of particles were smaller than 2.5 mm, with average concentrations of 64 particles/kg in beach sediment and 18.68 particles/m3 in seawater, and the Marmara region showing highest pollution.
Evaluation of abundance of microplastics in the Bulgarian coastal waters
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This study assessed microplastic pollution in Bulgarian Black Sea coastal waters across different site types — protected, aquaculture, and industrial zones — providing one of the first quantitative datasets for this undermonitored region. The presence of microplastics in all areas, including protected sites, indicates that contamination is pervasive and that Black Sea marine organisms face widespread exposure to particles that can also carry adsorbed chemical pollutants.
Microplastic occurrence in coastal waters and aquatic faunas of the Western Black Sea
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Researchers assessed microplastic occurrence in coastal waters and aquatic fauna of the Western Black Sea region receiving Danube River inputs, characterizing MP distributions in a coastal ecosystem under pressure from tourism, fishing, regional conflicts, and inadequate waste disposal across the Danube basin.
Spatial Distribution and Index-Based Assessment of Microplastic Pollution in the Southern Black Sea
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Scientists tested waters and sediments along the southern Black Sea coast and found tiny plastic particles, mostly common plastics like polyethylene (used in bags and packaging), everywhere they looked, both in the water and on the seafloor. This matters because these coastal areas are often sources of seafood, and microplastics that build up in the environment can end up in the fish and shellfish people eat, though this study focused on mapping pollution levels rather than directly measuring health effects. The findings give researchers a baseline to track pollution trends and push for better plastic waste management in the region.
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.