Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
8872413 | Marine Pollution Bulletin | 2017 | 6 Pages |
Abstract
This is the first survey to investigate the occurrence and extent of microplastic contamination in sediments collected along a coast-open sea 140Â km-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 30Â mm in length. The primary shape types by number were filaments (69.3%), followed by fragments (16.4%), and film (14.3%). Microplastics (1-5Â mm) accounted for 65.1% of debris, mesoplastics (5-20Â mm) made up 30.3% of total amount, while macro debris (>Â 20Â mm) 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.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Oceanography
Authors
Michele Mistri, Vanessa Infantini, Marco Scoponi, Tommaso Granata, Letizia Moruzzi, Francesca Massara, Miriam De Donati, Cristina Munari,