A large-scale study of microplastic abundance in sediment cores from the UK continental shelf and slope
Marine Pollution Bulletin2022
51 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.
Thomas Maes,
Thomas Maes,
Thomas Maes,
Thomas Maes,
Thomas Maes,
Thomas Maes,
Thomas Maes,
Thomas Maes,
Adil Bakir,
Adil Bakir,
Adil Bakir,
Anna Kukkola
Anna Kukkola
Anna Kukkola
Anna Kukkola
Anna Kukkola
Adil Bakir,
Anna Kukkola
Adil Bakir,
Adil Bakir,
Adil Bakir,
Anna Kukkola
Adil Bakir,
Adil Bakir,
Adil Bakir,
Adil Bakir,
Anna Kukkola
Anna Kukkola
Briony Silburn,
Thomas Maes,
G. Senior,
Adil Bakir,
Adil Bakir,
Adil Bakir,
Anna Kukkola
Adil Bakir,
Adil Bakir,
Anna Kukkola
Anna Kukkola
Adil Bakir,
Adil Bakir,
Thomas Maes,
Thomas Maes,
Thomas Maes,
Thomas Maes,
Briony Silburn,
G. Senior,
Thomas Maes,
Adil Bakir,
Adil Bakir,
Thomas Maes,
Adil Bakir,
Briony Silburn,
Thomas Maes,
Briony Silburn,
Thomas Maes,
Thomas Maes,
Andrew G. Mayes,
Thomas Maes,
Anna Kukkola
Anna Kukkola
Thomas Maes,
Briony Silburn,
Anna Kukkola
Adil Bakir,
Anna Kukkola
Briony Silburn,
Adil Bakir,
Adil Bakir,
Anna Kukkola
Anna Kukkola
Thomas Maes,
Thomas Maes,
Thomas Maes,
Thomas Maes,
Thomas Maes,
Adil Bakir,
Thomas Maes,
Adil Bakir,
Anna Kukkola
Adil Bakir,
Adil Bakir,
Adil Bakir,
Adil Bakir,
Andrew G. Mayes,
Andrew G. Mayes,
Andrew G. Mayes,
Thomas Maes,
Thomas Maes,
Adil Bakir,
Anna Kukkola
Anna Kukkola
Anna Kukkola
Adil Bakir,
Adil Bakir,
Adil Bakir,
Adil Bakir,
Adil Bakir,
Anna Kukkola
Silke Kröger,
Adil Bakir,
Thomas Maes,
Andrew G. Mayes,
Adil Bakir,
Thomas Maes,
Anna Kukkola
Anna Kukkola
Anna Kukkola
Andrew G. Mayes,
Andrew G. Mayes,
Thomas Maes,
Anna Kukkola
Anna Kukkola
Anna Kukkola
Adil Bakir,
Briony Silburn,
Anna Kukkola
Thomas Maes,
Anna Kukkola
Andrew G. Mayes,
Thomas Maes,
Silke Kröger,
Anna Kukkola
Thomas Maes,
Thomas Maes,
Thomas Maes,
Anna Kukkola
Thomas Maes,
Silke Kröger,
Thomas Maes,
Andrew G. Mayes,
Andrew G. Mayes,
Anna Kukkola
Summary
Microplastic abundance was surveyed in sediment cores from three areas of the UK continental shelf, establishing a baseline pollution profile across contrasting coastal environments. Concentrations varied considerably by location and depth, with the data providing a foundation for future risk assessments of seafloor contamination.
Study Type
Environmental
To inform risk assessments, reliable, time efficient and affordable quantification methods are required for creating a microplastic (MP) pollution baseline in the world's oceans. To facilitate this, MP abundance was investigated in sediments of three contrasting areas of the UK continental shelf: North West of Jones Bank, the Canyons in the Celtic Sea and Dogger Bank in the North Sea, utilising the Nile Red tagging method to assess its time efficiency and cost. Average MP abundance in the top 10 cm was 1050-2700 MP kg<sup>-1</sup>. MP abundance decreased with increasing sediment depth and increased with increasing water depth. The findings emphasise the extent of MP pollution and illustrate the value of Nile Red for large scale mapping at relatively low cost.