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Beached microplastics in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea
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Researchers investigated microplastic occurrence on two beaches in the Northwestern Mediterranean Gulf of Lion, finding significant concentrations of fragments and pellets in beach sediments with notable variation between beach zones and sampling periods over a one-month interval.
Microplastics are small (<5mm) fragments of plastic debris that are ubiquitous in coastal areas and in open ocean. We have investigated the occurrence and composition of microplastics in beach sediments from the micro-tidal Northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Samples were collected on two beaches (northern and southern site) of the western Gulf of Lion showing markedly different characteristics. Sampling was performed along depositional lower, mid and upper beaches and repeated after 1month. Concentrations of microplastics in the northern and southern site were highly variable, ranging from 33 to 798 and from 12 to 187 microplastics per kg of dry sediment, respectively. Highest concentrations were found at three specific locations: nearby a local river mouth, within an accretionary area and in a depositional upper beach. The spatial and temporal distribution of beached microplastics seems to be directly dependent on external forcing such as wind, swell, precipitation, outflow and river mouth proximity.
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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.