The distribution of small (0.5–2 mm, S-MPs) and large (2–5 mm, L-MPs) microplastics and mesoplastic particles in 51 samples of surface beach sands at 7 locations along the southern shore of the Baltic Sea was investigated. MPs particles (3267 in total) were found at all the sites and in all the beach zones. The bulk mean MPs (0.5–5 mm) contamination is 68 ± 117 (median 33) items/kg DW (n = 51). The results were confirmed by μ-Raman spectroscopy analysis. National park areas did not differ substantially from other beaches. Expanded polystyrene fragments accounted for about 38% of the total collected particles. Fibres were the predominant type of MPs (55%). The highest contamination was found within the current wrack line (60.1 ± 36.6 items/kg DW of S-MPs). A consistent picture for S-MPs was observed at the beach face, where the mean values in different locations varied between 21.0 and 58.1 items/kg DW, with a bulk mean of 30.4 ± 13.7 items/kg DW.

A webcam was installed on the shore of the South-Eastern Baltic (Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia) to monitor the beach dynamics and beach-cast (BC) daily from November 1, 2019, to October 31, 2020. The beach was formed not the whole year (77%). The most frequent BC residence time was one day (1–21, 4.1 on average, and 1–19, 4.3 on average days to the west and east of the groin, respectively). The BC consisted primarily of algae. Fresh BC occupied smaller area, and its layer was thicker than that of long-discarded and trampled BC. The specific amount of material (per m²) in a fresh BC was 3.7 times higher in volume and 2.6 times higher in weight than in long-discarded and trampled BC. For fresh and old BC, the specific volumes were 63 and 17 l per m², respectively, and the specific masses were 48 and 18 kg per m², respectively.

Microplastic is a ubiquitous environmental contaminant, but large gaps still exist in our knowledge of its distribution. We conducted a detailed assessment of the extent and variability of microplastic pollution in the Bristol Channel, UK. Sand samples were collected between the 5th and 30th August 2017, with microplastic recovered from 15 of the 16 beaches sampled along a coastal extent of ~230 km. In total, 1446 particles of suspected microplastic were extracted using a cascade of sieves and visual identification. The most common microplastics recovered were fragments (74%) and industrial plastic pellets (13%). We used Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to analyse 25% of recovered particles, 96.5% of which were confirmed as plastic, with polyethylene (61%) and polypropylene (26%) the most common polymers. Our analysis of local beach environments indicates microplastic burdens were higher on lower energy beaches with finer sediments, highlighting the importance of depositional environment in determining microplastic abundance.

Phuket is a popular tourism destination in Thailand. This study examined the distribution of microplastics found on beaches along the East and West coasts of Phuket including Tri Trang, Patong, Kalim, Chalong, Makham, and Rawai beaches. A total of 18 samples from a 0.5 m × 0.5 m quadrat at the intertidal zone were sorted into >300-μm and 20–300-μm size classes. For all sizes combined, the mean abundance was 188.3 ± 34.5 items kg⁻¹. White (29.2%) and fiber (85.6%) were the most abundant plastic; and the polymer types based on μFTIR analysis were PET > PS > PP > PU > PVC > Epoxy with a great amount of cotton and regenerated cellulose also detected. Principal component analysis indicated the correlation between PET, regenerated cellulose, PP and PU with Chalong and Patong beaches, suggesting that highly visited tourist beaches with harbor activities, and a tourist departure point, are possible sources of microplastics.

A large-scale oil spill has reached over 3000 km of the NE Brazilian coast since August 2019. The cause and origin of this spill remain mysterious, and the impacts on coastal ecosystems have not been clearly understood so far. Despite the efforts to remove the oil (mainly from local communities), oil stains are still present in beaches, mangroves, and beachrocks. In this short report, we describe the occurrence of the barnacle Chthamalus bisinuatus Pilsbry, 1916 colonizing oil spill stains on intertidal surfaces of beachrocks one year after the first oil records. We quickly assessed oil stains across three different reefs located at the Conde municipality, Bahia (NE Brazil), where the species was identified and its density on oil stains calculated. The occurrence of barnacles in oil stains was restricted to zones in the wake of the reefs. Their densities varied from 0 to 238 ind./dm², with an average of 34 ± 68 ind./dm². If we account for dead individuals (empty barnacle plates), they correspond to 25.9% of the sampled population. The presence of oil possibly affected barnacle survival rates but did not seem to prevent barnacle individuals from reaching adult sizes. We also found individuals of the snail Echinolittorina lineolata (d'Orbigny, 1840) crawling on these barnacles, indicating that the barnacle assemblages on oil stains are stable enough to provide refuge for these snails. It is not clear if the presence of barnacles on oil reflects the resistance of these crustaceans to the oil toxicity or is just a result of a low substrate selectivity by the cypris larvae.