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Small plastic debris in sediments from the Central Adriatic Sea: Types, occurrence and distribution
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Microplastic debris was found in all sediment samples collected along a 140 km transect in the central Adriatic Sea, including in deep offshore sediments. The study is one of the first to systematically document microplastic distribution along a coast-to-open-sea gradient in this region.
This is the first survey to investigate the occurrence and extent of microplastic contamination in sediments collected along a coast-open sea 140km-long transect in the Central Adriatic Sea. Plastic debris extracted from 64 samples of sediments were counted, weighted and identified by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Several types of plastic particles were observed in 100% of the stations. Plastic particles ranged from 1 to 30mm in length. The primary shape types by number were filaments (69.3%), followed by fragments (16.4%), and film (14.3%). Microplastics (1-5mm) accounted for 65.1% of debris, mesoplastics (5-20mm) made up 30.3% of total amount, while macro debris (>20mm) accounted for 4.6% of total plastics collected. Identification through FT-IR spectroscopy evidenced the presence of 6 polymer types: the majority of plastic debris were nylon, polyethylene and ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer. Our data are a baseline for microplastic research in the Adriatic Sea.
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Researchers characterized microplastic distribution in marine sediments along the Montenegrin coast, providing the first assessment of microplastic pollution status in this understudied region of the Adriatic Sea.
Marine litter in the Croatian part of the middle Adriatic Sea: Simultaneous assessment of floating and seabed macro and micro litter abundance and composition.
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Floating and seabed macro- and micro-litter in the Croatian middle Adriatic Sea were simultaneously surveyed, finding average floating micro-litter concentrations of 127,000 particles per square kilometer and seabed micro-litter of 36 particles per 100 g dry weight. The study confirms that plastic pollution is widespread at all depths in this semi-enclosed Mediterranean sea.
Microplastics in Surface Sediments along the Montenegrin Coast, Adriatic Sea: Types, Occurrence, and Distribution
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This is the first study to document microplastics in surface sediments along the coast of Montenegro in the Adriatic Sea. Fibers and fragments were the dominant types found, highlighting that microplastic contamination has reached this less-studied part of the Mediterranean.
Quantity and composition of microplastics in littoral sediments from the Eastern coast of the Central Adriatic
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This Croatian undergraduate thesis examined the quantity and composition of microplastics in littoral sediments from the eastern coast of the central Adriatic, characterizing particle shapes and sizes from beach sediment samples. The work adds to regional data on microplastic accumulation in Mediterranean coastal environments.
Macrodebris and microplastics from beaches in Slovenia
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Researchers surveyed both macrodebris on beaches and microplastics in shoreline and sublittoral sediments in Slovenia, providing the first such dataset for this short Adriatic coastline. The study found plastic contamination present even in areas with low tourism activity, suggesting diffuse sources beyond local littering.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.