The seasonal cycle of micro and meso-plastics in surface waters in a coastal environment (Ría de Vigo, NW Spain).

Marine litter is an emerging environmental problem. In this study, micro and mesoplastics were determined for the first time in seawater in Ría de Vigo (Spain) identifying their concentration, annual cycle, size, shape and polymer composition. Besides, temporal variations at an annual scale were also established.

Plackett Burman design for microplastics quantification in marine sediments.

Microplastics are gaining worldwide attention due to their omnipresence. The marine environment is one of the most affected systems; especially the sediment compartment. Microplastic separation from the sediment matrix is the first step to evaluate its abundance and availability.

Microplastic ingestion by pelagic and benthic fish and diet composition: A case study in the NW Iberian shelf.

We evaluated the incidence of microplastics in the digestive tract contents of four fish species: Engraulis encrasicolus, Sardina pilchardus, Callionymus lyra and Mullus surmuletus. Alkaline digestion (10% KOH) was used to degrade the organic matter. The percentage of fish with microplastics was 78% (88% fibres, 12% fragments).

Microplastic distribution in surface sediments along the Spanish Mediterranean continental shelf.

Microplastics (MPs) are widely recognised as a contaminant of emerging concern in the marine environment. This work provides original data of the presence of MPs in coastal sediments along the Spanish Mediterranean continental shelf. Ten surface sediment samples were collected in order to document baseline microplastic distribution from Algeciras to Barcelona.

Land-ocean contributions of arsenic through a river-estuary-ria system (SW Europe) under the influence of arsenopyrite deposits in the fluvial basin.

Water was sampled monthly from September 2005 to August 2006 at 14 stations distributed throughout the coastal system of Anllóns-Laxe, from where 30 surface sediment samples were also taken. After filtration through 0.22 μm polycarbonate filters, dissolved inorganic and total arsenic (UV oxidation) concentration was determined by HG-AFS.