The Complex Mixture, Fate and Toxicity of Chemicals Associated with Plastic Debris in the Marine Environment

Environmental contextMillions of tons of plastic debris are present in the marine environment. This study addresses the issue of microplastics in nearshore sediment and fish sampled from the Saudi coastal waters of the Red Sea. The results show that the sediments of all analysed stations contained microplastics, and microplastic particles were detected in almost half of the 140 sampled fish. AbstractThe amounts of microplastics in sediment samples obtained from four stations along the Jeddah coast were shown to range from not detected to 119particleskg−1 wet sediment. Four classes of microplastic particles in the sediment, that is, fragments, granules, foams and fibres, were characterised by fluorescence microscopy. Microplastics of various forms and sizes were also identified in 44% of the 140 sampled fish (6 local species) in amounts ranging from not detected to 30 microplastic particles per individual. Polyethylene terephthalate and vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymers were the dominant polymer types in the sediment samples identified by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis, while polystyrene, polyethylene and polyester were the dominant polymer types detected in fish. FTIR analysis showed that the most detected fibres were made of polyester. The results of this study emphasise that microplastic pollution represents an emerging threat to the marine environment of the Red Sea. The results of this study provide useful background information for further investigations and provide an accurate overview of the microplastics distribution in the marine environment of the Saudi Red Sea.

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FTIR spectroscopy supported by statistical techniques for the structural characterization of plastic debris in the marine environment: Application to monitoring studies

Marine Pollution Bulletin ◽

10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.03.012 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 106 (1-2) ◽

pp. 155-161 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

Mauro Mecozzi ◽

Marco Pietroletti ◽

Yulia B. Monakhova

Keyword(s):

Ftir Spectroscopy ◽

Marine Environment ◽

Structural Characterization ◽

Statistical Techniques ◽

Plastic Debris

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The Ecotoxicological Effects of Microplastics on Primary Producers in the Marine Environment

Journal of Fisheries Science ◽

10.30564/jfsr.v2i2.1906 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Mahibul Islam ◽

Mahmudul Hasan ◽

Bhaskar Chandra Majudmar ◽

Sulav Indra Paul

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Marine Environment ◽

Scientific Evidence ◽

Marine Ecosystem ◽

Complex Structure ◽

Primary Producers ◽

Huge Amount ◽

Plastic Debris ◽

Seagrass Meadows ◽

Ecotoxicological Effect

Plastic debris is an emerging environmental threat all over the world. But its effect and distribution in the marine ecosystem is barely known. Microplastics abundance in the marine vegetated area is about 2 to 3 times higher than the bare site in the ocean. Although seagrass meadows trap huge amount of microplastics over the ocean floor, a considerable amount of microplastics are also sink incorporating with the marine aggregates from the epipelagic zone of the ocean. Scavenging of microplastics by diatom aggregation decreases the sinking rate of them rather than cryptophyte. As we know, marine snow is the leading carbon source for zoobenthos, but the ubiquitous presence of microplastics damages cell of different microalgae which may alter the food webs of marine ecosystems. Additionally, microplastics releases immense amount of dissolved organic carbons (DOC) in the surrounding seawater that stimulates the growth of heterotrophic microorganisms as well as their functional activity. Plastic debris result in outbreaks of disease in the marine environment and coral reefs are highly affected by it. When coral reef comes in contact with microplastics, the disease infestation rate of the reef increases massively. Three major disease viz., skeletal eroding band, white syndrome and black band of coral reef causes approximately 46% of reef mortality due to microplastics consumption. Due to complex structure and size, the corals accumulates huge amount of microplastics that increases growth of pathogens by hampering the coral immune system. Existing scientific evidence presents that exposure of microplastics in aquatic environments triggers a wide variety of toxic insult from feeding disruption to reproductive performance, disturbances in energy metabolism throughout the ocean. The present review focused on the ecotoxicological effect of microplastics on primary producers of ocean, its uptake, accumulation, and excretion, and its probable toxicity with risk assessment approaches.

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Plastic Debris in the Marine Environment: History and Future Challenges

Global Challenges ◽

10.1002/gch2.201900081 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (6) ◽

pp. 1900081 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Imogen Ellen Napper ◽

Richard C. Thompson

Keyword(s):

Marine Environment ◽

Plastic Debris ◽

Future Challenges

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Polluting shipwrecks in Swedish waters: investigations, risk assessment methodology and oil removal operations

International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings ◽

10.7901/2169-3358-2021.1.684035 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 (1) ◽

Author(s):

J. Fredrik Lindgren ◽

Frida Åberg ◽

Josephine Rubia Johansson

Keyword(s):

Marine Environment ◽

Complex Mixture ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Fuel Oil ◽

Hazardous Substances ◽

Oil Removal ◽

Heavy Fuel Oil ◽

To The Lighthouse ◽

Ship Hulls ◽

In Situ Data

ABSTRACT Large amounts of oil exists in old shipwrecks worldwide, both as cargo and bunker. This oil will eventually enter the marine environment as the ship hulls deteriorate or as other types of activities affect the wrecks. Oil being a complex mixture of hazardous substances will when released into the marine environment be a source of both lethal and sub-lethal effects to organisms. Costs of an oil spill in the marine environment, including clean-up actions, socioeconomic and environmental costs is often substantial. Sweden has a ten year nationally funded program where oil removal operations on shipwrecks are performed. From a list of 300 potentially polluting shipwrecks, 31 wrecks have initially been selected for oil removal operations. In a first stage extensive gathering of information was performed regarding each wreck, both archive data and in-situ data at the wreck site. Secondly, a risk analysis was carried out. Based on the probability of oil leakage, amount of oil in the wreck and sensitivity of recipients, a prioritization for oil removal operations was made of the 31 wrecks. Based on the prioritization, time of the year and cost of an operation wrecks are finally selected for oil removal operation. So far, since 2017, five operations have been performed. During 2019 and 2020, two successful oil removal operations were carried out. The ship Lindesnäs wrecked 1957 in a snow storm close to the lighthouse Norra Kränkan on the Swedish east coast with a cargo of kerosene and diesel as bunker fuel. The operation from mobilization to demobilization lasted for 22 days, and 299 m3 of oil and a large ghost net was removed from the wreck. Secondly, Finnbirch, which wrecked in 2006 east of the island of Öland and started to leak oil during the end of 2018, was salvaged in a two-part operation. In 2019, 60 m3 of diesel fuel and lubricant oil were salvaged, during a fourteen-day operation. In 2020, 114 m3 of heavy fuel oil (HFO) was salvaged from the wreck during a fifteen-day operation. The costs per ton of removed oil were far less than cost for oil clean-up operations in Swedish waters. In conclusion, using a risk-based approach for prioritization of potentially polluting shipwrecks and the subsequent proactive removal of oil from shipwrecks is a cost-effective approach to alleviate the problem.

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Quantifying Marine Plastic Debris in a Beach Environment Using Spectral Analysis

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13224548 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (22) ◽

pp. 4548

Author(s):

Jenna A. Guffogg ◽

Samantha M. Blades ◽

Mariela Soto-Berelov ◽

Chris J. Bellman ◽

Andrew K. Skidmore ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Marine Environment ◽

Spectral Feature ◽

Detection Methods ◽

Surface Layers ◽

Plastic Debris ◽

Surface Cover ◽

Sandy Substrate ◽

Beach Litter ◽

The Impact ◽

Marine Plastic Debris

Marine plastic debris (MPD) is a globally relevant environmental challenge, with an estimated 8 million tons of synthetic debris entering the marine environment each year. Plastic has been found in all parts of the marine environment, including the surface layers of the ocean, within the water column, in coastal waters, on the benthic layer and on beaches. While research on detecting MPD using remote sensing is increasing, most of it focuses on detecting floating debris in open waters, rather than detecting MPD on beaches. However, beaches present challenges that are unique from other parts of the marine environment. In order to better understand the spectral properties of beached MPD, we present the SWIR reflectance of weathered MPD and virgin plastics over a sandy substrate. We conducted spectral feature analysis on the different plastic groups to better understand the impact that polymers have on our ability to detect synthetic debris at sub-pixel surface covers that occur on beaches. Our results show that the minimum surface cover required to detect MPD on a sandy surface varies between 2–8% for different polymer types. Furthermore, plastic composition affects the magnitude of spectral absorption. This suggests that variation in both surface cover and polymer type will inform the efficacy of beach litter detection methods.

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