Polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene are the most abundant microplastics in the Mediterranean coastal waters, according to a new study published by the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin –by the experts Miquel Canals, William P. de Haan, and Anna Sànchez-Vidal, from the Consolidated Research Group on Marine Geosciences of the Faculty of Earth Sciences of the UB.
Polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene are the most abundant microplastics in the Mediterranean coastal waters, according to a new study published by the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin –by the experts Miquel Canals, William P. de Haan, and Anna Sànchez-Vidal, from the Consolidated Research Group on Marine Geosciences of the Faculty of Earth Sciences of the UB.
This study describes the presence of different types of microplastics in the peninsular coastal Mediterranean, in particular at the coasts of Catalonia, the region of Murcia and Almeria. According to the results, other abundant types are nylon polymers, polyurethane (PUR), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and fluorocarbon polymer. The experts also identified for the first time, signs of plastic materials with marine origins –in particular, particles of ship painting- which were not studied in the Mediterranean basin until now.
Diagnosis of the peninsular Mediterranean coast: rounded, small and light microplastics
Cylinders and small spheres, polyester foam, filaments from fishing gears and many pieces of plastic from varied chemical compositions are among the found materials in Mediterranean coasts. The study has analysed about 2,500 samples of plastic materials taken from different oceanographic campaigns over a north-south axis in every area of study. In all studied areas, the most abundant materials are fragments of polyethylene (54.5 %), polypropylene (16.5 %) and polyester (9.7 %) –the most produced thermoplastic polymer worldwide- which float in marine waters and are likely to come from the continent.
Read more at University of Barcelona
Image: The state of the found microplastics could suggest a state of advanced degradation and long permanence in the marine environment. (Credit: GRC Marine Geosciences - University of Barcelona)
