engleski

Microplastic load in the northern Adriatic

Plastic is the most common artificial material used today. As plastics degrades only at very slow rates it inevitable ends up in marine ecosystems, often ground down to microplastics. The microplastic concentration on the sea surface ranges from one thousand to hundreds of thousands of particles per km2. The amount and distribution of microplastic in the sea depends on several factors, from the proximity of urban centers and the coast to the wind and sea streams. The data on microplastic waste in the Mediterranean Sea are generally scarce and show great variations between the investigated areas. The North Adriatic (NA) is a dynamic ecosystem with numerous and steep ecological gradients but also a relatively long seawater retention time, which puts it in a particularly vulnerable area for negative impact of microplastics. The aim of this study was to assess the spatial and temporal distribution of microplastic in the water column of the NA during one year. Microplastic was found in all samples, both from the surface and from the water column. High concentration variability was recorded at all stations during the monthly sampling regime. The average concentration was 179x103 MP particles/km2 for the surface samples and 992 MP particles/dm3 was the average concentration for the water column samples.

microplastic ; fibers ; particles ; Adriatic Sea

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