On the quantity and composition of floating plastic debris entering and leaving the Tamar Estuary, Southwest England

•First study of plastic debris in European waters during different tidal regimes.•Microplastic comprised 82% of the debris and fragments were the most common form.•The most abundant types of plastic were Polyethylene, Polystyrene and Polypropylene.•There was significant shift towards smaller plastic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine pollution bulletin 2014-04, Vol.81 (1), p.55-60
Main Authors: Sadri, Saeed S., Thompson, Richard C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Brackish water ecosystems
Debris
Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution
England
Environmental Monitoring - methods
Estuaries
Estuarine environments
Fragments
Fresh water ecosystems
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Marine and brackish environment
Marine debris
Marine environments
Microplastic
Plastic
Plastics
Polyethylenes
Riverine litter
Rivers
Sea water ecosystems
Springs (elastic)
Surface water
Synecology
Tamar River
Tidal
Waste Products
Water Pollutants
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Summary:•First study of plastic debris in European waters during different tidal regimes.•Microplastic comprised 82% of the debris and fragments were the most common form.•The most abundant types of plastic were Polyethylene, Polystyrene and Polypropylene.•There was significant shift towards smaller plastic sizes during the neap/ebb tide.•During our study river Tamar did not identify as a net source or sink. 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 (
ISSN:0025-326X
1879-3363
DOI:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.02.020