Sea surface microplastics in Slovenian part of the Northern Adriatic

Plastics are the most common material of marine litter and have become a global pollution concern. They are persistent in the environment where they gradually degrade into increasingly smaller particles–microplastics (MP). Our study presents results of sea-surface monitoring for MP in the Slovenian...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine pollution bulletin 2016-12, Vol.113 (1-2), p.392-399
Main Authors: Gajšt, Tamara, Bizjak, Tine, Palatinus, Andreja, Liubartseva, Svitlana, Kržan, Andrej
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adriatic Sea
Environmental Monitoring - methods
Marine
Marine litter
Markov chain model
Markov Chains
Mediterranean Sea
Microplastics
Plastics - analysis
Polyethylene - analysis
Sea surface
Seawater - analysis
Slovenia
Slovenian sea
Waste Products - analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
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Summary:Plastics are the most common material of marine litter and have become a global pollution concern. They are persistent in the environment where they gradually degrade into increasingly smaller particles–microplastics (MP). Our study presents results of sea-surface monitoring for MP in the Slovenian part of the Trieste Bay in the Northern Adriatic Sea. In 17 trawls conducted over a 20-month period we found a high average concentration of 406×103MPparticles/km2. Over 80% of the particles were identified as polyethylene. The significant variability of MP concentrations obtained on different sampling dates is explained by use of surface current maps and a recently developed Markov chain marine litter distribution model for the Adriatic Sea. [Display omitted] •A 20-month study of sea surface microplastics in the Northern Adriatic Sea•High average concentration: 406·103particles/km2•>80% microplastics made of polyethylene•Significant concentration variation explained by use of Markov chain model
ISSN:0025-326X
1879-3363
DOI:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.10.031