A field survey to collect microplastics with sizes <5mm was conducted in the Southern Ocean in 2016. We performed five net-tows and collected 44 pieces of plastic. Total particle counts of the entire water column, which is free of vertical mixing, were computed using the surface concentration (particle count per unit seawater volume) of microplastics, wind speed, and significant wave height during the observation period. Total particle counts at two stations near Antarctica were estimated to be in the order of 100,000pieceskm.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.09.037 | DOI Listing |
Environ Res
January 2025
Hydrology and Environmental Hydraulics Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands.
Concentrations of microplastics are both temporally and spatially variable in streamflow. Yet, an overwhelming number of published field studies do not target a range of flow conditions and fail to adequately capture particle transport within the full flow field. Since microplastic flux models rely on the representativeness of available data, current predictions of riverine exports contain substantial error.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Res
January 2025
Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, Costa Mesa, CA, 92626, United States.
The concentration, character, and distribution of microplastics in coastal marine environments remain poorly understood, with most research focusing on the abundance of microplastics at the sea surface. To address this gap, we conducted one of the first comprehensive assessments of microplastic distribution through the marine water column and benthic sediment during the wet and dry season in the coastal waters of the San Pedro Bay Southern California, USA. Microplastic concentrations in the water column did not vary significantly across season but were significantly higher in nearshore environments and at the surface of the water column.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Total Environ
January 2025
College of Marine Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; Zhongshan Innovation Center of South China Agricultural University, Zhongshan 528400, China. Electronic address:
Mangrove sediments in southern China are a large reservoir for microplastics (MPs). In particular, polyethylene microplastics (PE-MPs) are environmentally toxic and have accumulated in large quantities in these sediments, posing a potential threat to the overall mangrove and the organisms that inhabit it. We screened sediments from 5 mangrove sites and identified a potential source of PE-MP degrading bacteria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Res
January 2025
MIIT Key Laboratory of Critical Materials Technology for New Energy Conversion and Storage, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China.
In recent years, the accumulation of waste plastics and emergence plastic-derived pollutants such as microplastics have driven significantly the development and updating of waste plastic utilization technology. This study prepared the porous carbon (PC-1-KOH) material directly from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in waste plastic bottles using KOH activation and molten salt strategy for efficient removal of antibiotic tetracycline (TC). The maximum removal efficiency of TC was 100.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMar Pollut Bull
January 2025
University of West Florida, 11000 University Parkway, Pensacola, FL 32514, United States of America. Electronic address:
Microplastics, small pieces of plastic measuring less than five millimeters, have spread to all ecosystems, even those in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. In particular, microplastics have been found contaminating water in emerging fjords, or inlets created by deglaciation, along the Antarctic Peninsula. Microplastics contamination puts fjord communities, which are unique and dominated by benthic species, at high risk for microplastic exposure leading to issues with feeding, endocrine disruption, and exposure to adsorbed toxins, all of which lower fecundity and survivability.
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