A comparison of sampling methods for seawater microplastics and a first report of the microplastic litter in coastal waters of Ascension and Falkland Islands.
Mar Pollut Bull
; 137: 695-701, 2018 Dec.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30503486
ABSTRACT
To date there is no gold standard for sampling microplastics. Zooplankton sampling methods, such as plankton and Neuston nets, are commonly used to estimate the concentrations of microplastics in seawater, but their ability to detect microplastics is limited by their mesh size. We compared different net-based sampling methods with different mesh sizes including bongo nets (>500⯵m), manta nets (>300⯵m) and plankton nets (>200⯵m and >400⯵m) to 1â¯litre bottle grabbed, filtered (0.45⯵m) samples. Concentrations of microplastics estimated using net-based methods were ~3 orders of magnitude less than those estimated by 1â¯litre grab samples. Some parts of the world with low human populations, such as Ascension Island and the Falkland Islands, lack baseline data on microplastics. Using the bottle grab sampling method we found that microplastic litter was present at these remote locations and was comparable to levels of contamination in more populated coastal regions, such as the United Kingdom.
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Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Plásticos
/
Agua de Mar
/
Contaminantes Químicos del Agua
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Mar Pollut Bull
Año:
2018
Tipo del documento:
Article