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The current state of microplastic pollution in the world's largest gulf and its future directions
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This review critically assesses microplastic pollution research in the Gulf of Mexico, the world's largest gulf, covering 14 studies across water, sediment, and biota. Researchers found microplastic concentrations ranging widely across environmental compartments, with fragments being the most common shape and polyethylene the most prevalent polymer, and noted that 46 out of 100 fish species in the region are susceptible to microplastic ingestion.
Microplastics can have several negative consequences on a variety of organisms, and their prevalence in marine ecosystems has become a major concern. Researchers have recently focused their attention on the world's largest gulf, the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), to determine and assess the impact of microplastic pollution on various environmental compartments (i.e., water, sediment, and biota). This paper critically reviews the analytical methodologies as well as summarizes the distribution, accumulation, sources, and composition of microplastics in a handful of studies (n = 14) conducted in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) covering countries like the USA (n = 10) and Mexico (n = 4). Current quality control measures with respect to sampling and microplastic extraction are summarized. Of 14 studies reviewed, 47% primarily focused on examining sediments for microplastics, with biota and water comprising 35% and 18%, respectively. The abundance ranged from 31.7 to 1392 items m and 60-1940 items kg in sediment, 12-381 particles L in water, and 1.31-4.7 particles per fish in biota. Irregular shaped fragments were the most abundant, followed by fiber, film, foam, hard, and beads etc. Different polymer types of microplastics have been found, including polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyamide, nylon, and rayon etc. According to published research, 46 out of 100 fish thriving in this region are susceptible to microplastic ingestion. Although microplastic concentration in the GoM is among the highest found worldwide, the determination of microplastic contamination is still a growing field of research and methodological discrepancies largely limit the realization of establishing a baseline information on the microplastic abundance of the GoM. In this respect, considerable efforts must be dedicated towards evaluating their distribution and exposure levels; thereby, major challenges and future research directions are briefly discussed.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.