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Microplastics particles in seafloor sediments along the Arabian Sea and the Andaman Sea continental shelves: First insight on the occurrence, identification, and characterization
Summary
This first study of seafloor sediment microplastics on the Arabian Sea and Andaman Sea continental shelves found plastic particles across all sampled stations, with fiber and fragment shapes dominated by polyethylene and polypropylene, establishing a baseline for these deep-margin environments.
Microplastics (MPs) are widely-recognized contaminants and marine sediments act as a sink of MPs and therefore may cause a potential threat to benthic communities. We aim to analyze the MPs abundances and characteristics in the seafloor sediments from the continental shelves of the Arabian and Andaman seas. Twenty-two seafloor sediments were collected from 8 and 14 locations of the Arabian and Andaman seas, respectively. MPs concentrations varied from not detected (ND) to 267 particles kg with mean values of 128.02 ± 33.92 and 15.36 ± 2.61 particles kg, respectively for the Arabian and Andaman seas. Among different shapes, fiber had the highest distribution over fragments and pellet. FT-IR analysis revealed acrylic was most dominant polymer, followed by polyethylene, and nylon. Mean MP concentration at the Arabian Sea was significantly higher (p < 0.001) than in the Andaman Sea. The present study revealed the wide-spread occurrence of MPs throughout the Indian seas.