This is the first survey to investigate the occurrence and extent of microplastic contamination in sediments collected along a coast-open sea 140. 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 30. mm in length. The primary shape types by number were filaments (69.3%), followed by fragments (16.4%), and film (14.3%). Microplastics (1-5. mm) accounted for 65.1% of debris, mesoplastics (5-20. mm) made up 30.3% of total amount, while macro debris (>. 20. 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.

Small plastic debris in sediments from the Central Adriatic Sea: Types, occurrence and distribution

MISTRI, Michele
Primo
;
INFANTINI, Vanessa
Secondo
;
SCOPONI, Marco;MUNARI, Cristina
Ultimo
2017

Abstract

This is the first survey to investigate the occurrence and extent of microplastic contamination in sediments collected along a coast-open sea 140. 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 30. mm in length. The primary shape types by number were filaments (69.3%), followed by fragments (16.4%), and film (14.3%). Microplastics (1-5. mm) accounted for 65.1% of debris, mesoplastics (5-20. mm) made up 30.3% of total amount, while macro debris (>. 20. 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.
2017
Mistri, Michele; Infantini, Vanessa; Scoponi, Marco; Granata, Tommaso; Moruzzi, Letizia; Massara, Francesca; De Donati, Miriam; Munari, Cristina
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11392/2379710
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