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On the quantity and composition of floating plastic debris entering and leaving the Tamar Estuary, Southwest England
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Researchers estimated the quantity and composition of floating plastic entering and leaving the North Sea, using measurements and modeling to track how much plastic crosses the sea's boundaries through oceanic and atmospheric pathways.
The majority of plastic debris found in the marine environment has land based sources and rivers are considered an important medium for transfer of this debris. Here we report on the quantity and composition of floating plastic debris collected from surface waters of the Tamar Estuary. This represents the first study of riverine transport of floating plastic debris into European waters during different tidal regimes. Plastics were found in a variety of forms and sizes and microplastics (<5 mm) comprised 82% of the debris. The most abundant types of plastic were Polyethylene (40%), Polystyrene (25%) and Polypropylene (19%). There was a significant difference in size frequency distribution between the spring and neap tides with more fragments of larger size observed during spring tides. While it is clear that debris has accumulated on shorelines within the estuary, during our study this river did not identify as a net source or sink.
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The fate of plastic litter within estuarine compartments: An overview of current knowledge for the transboundary issue to guide future assessments
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Researchers reviewed global knowledge on plastic fate within estuaries and found plastic concentrations reaching thousands of items per cubic meter in water and sediment, while identifying major methodological gaps — particularly that microfibers are consistently undersampled and that studies rarely account for ecological trophic gradients or the physicochemical dynamics driving plastic distribution and bioavailability.
What is floating at the surface? A perspective of the UK.
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Researchers surveyed floating macro-litter and microplastics at the UK sea surface, finding concentrations ranging from 0 to 2,139 items per square kilometer with filaments dominating the microplastic fraction and fragments and filaments dominating macroplastics, contributing data toward understanding the missing plastic sink discrepancy.
Microplastic distribution and transport mechanisms in a rural semi-closed estuary
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This study investigated microplastic distribution and transport mechanisms in a rural semi-closed estuary, examining how hydrodynamic and physical factors control plastic particle movement and deposition. The findings aimed to characterize key transport pathways that determine where microplastics accumulate within estuarine systems.
Study on the Mass Concentration Distributions of Marine Microplastics in Estuaries and Coastal Areas
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Researchers characterized the mass concentration distribution of marine microplastics in estuarine and coastal environments, measuring spatial gradients between river mouths and open coastal waters and identifying estuaries as major transition zones for microplastic flux.
Plastic debris in the open ocean
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Researchers collected and characterized plastic debris floating in the open ocean far from coastlines, documenting its abundance, polymer composition, and size distribution, providing early baseline data on the open-ocean plastic pollution problem.
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.