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Article ? AI-assigned paper type based on the abstract. Classification may not be perfect — flag errors using the feedback button. Tier 2 ? Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence. Environmental Sources Marine & Wildlife Sign in to save

TARA Mediterranean Expedition: Assessing the Impact of Microplastics on Mediterranean Ecosystem

Springer water 2017 5 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Maria Luiza Pedrotti, Maria Grazia Mazzocchi, Fabien Lombard, François Galgani, Marie Emmanuelle Kerros, Maryvonne Henry, Amanda Elineau, Stéphanie Petit, M.L. Fernández-de-Puelles, Stéphane Gasparini, Valentina Tirelli, Jean‐Louis Jamet, Gabriel Gorsky

Summary

The 2014 TARA Mediterranean expedition sampled floating microplastics across the entire Mediterranean Sea, finding plastic fragments in all 124 samples at an average of 260,000 items per square kilometer, with concentrations highest in the western basin and near urban coastal areas. The survey provides the most comprehensive spatial picture of Mediterranean surface microplastic distribution to date.

TARA-Mediterranean expedition crossed the entire Mediterranean Sea in 2014 to study the distribution and concentration of floating microplastics and zooplankton. Surface samples were collected with a 330 µm Manta net, plastics were sorted from 124 samples and digitally imaged with the ZoosCan system. Results showed that plastic fragments were present in all samples with an average of 2.6 x 105 items/km2 and values varying from 2 x 103 items/km2 in the Eastern basin, to more than 2 x 106 items/km2 in the Western basin. Coastal zones of Naples, Corsica and Marseille were clearly identified as areas of particularly high plastic concentration.

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