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Microplastics in the Mediterranean Sea: Deposition in coastal shallow sediments, spatial variation and preferential grain size
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Researchers sampled Mediterranean coastal shallow sediments and found microplastics throughout, with concentrations and polymer types reflecting land-based inputs and showing that coastal sediments are a significant regional reservoir for plastic debris.
Marine litter loads in sea compartments are an emergent issue due to their ecological and biological consequences. This study addresses microplastic quantification and morphological description to test spatial differences along an anthropogenic gradient of coastal shallow sediments and further on to evaluate the preferential deposition of microplastics in a given sediment grain fraction. Sediments from Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) contained the highest concentrations of microplastics (MPs): up to 0.90 ± 0.10 MPs/g suggesting the transfer of microplastics from source areas to endpoint areas. In addition, a high proportion of microplastic filaments were found close to populated areas whereas fragment type microplastics were more common in MPAs. There was no clear trend between sediment grain size and microplastic deposition in sediments, although microplastics were always present in two grain size fractions: 2 mm > x > 1 mm and 1 mm > x 0.5 mm.
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Researchers assessed microplastic spatiotemporal distribution across multiple Mediterranean marine habitat types including water surface, sediment, and biota, revealing significant variability by location and season. The multi-compartment approach showed that no single habitat type captures the full extent of microplastic contamination.
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Researchers found that micro- and mesoplastic debris were widely and uniformly distributed across the Western Mediterranean Sea, with average surface concentrations of approximately 130,000 microplastic particles per km2 and 5,700 mesoplastic particles per km2. Fragment morphology and polymer composition analysis indicated a predominantly land-based origin for the debris.
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Researchers surveyed microplastic abundance and polymer types across multiple compartments of a Mediterranean marine environment, documenting their presence from the sea surface to beach sediments and within marine organisms. The study adds to growing evidence that microplastics are pervasive throughout Mediterranean coastal ecosystems.
Microplastics spatiotemporal distribution and variability in marine habitats along the North-Western Mediterranean coastal waters.
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Researchers mapped microplastic distribution across multiple marine habitat types along the Mediterranean coast, examining spatial and temporal variability from the water surface to the sediment. The study revealed that microplastic abundance and composition differ substantially by habitat, underscoring the need for multi-compartment monitoring.
Microplastics in the Mediterranean: Variability From Observations and Model Analysis
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Researchers combined field sampling across four Mediterranean coastal areas with hydrodynamic and particle drift modeling to characterize microplastic abundance, size, and polymer type variability, finding that wastewater and river inputs drive spatial patterns of surface MP distribution.
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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.