The prevalence of microplastics in the sediments of six beaches of the Puducherry coast in India was studied and its correlation to fishing activities and recreational activities was analysed. On an average, 72.03 ± 19.16 microplastic particles/100 g dry weight of sediments is found to be the microplastic abundance in the study. A Strong positive correlation (Pearson's R = 0.92, p = 0.0103) between fishing activity and microplastic abundance and a weak correlation (Pearson's R = 0.04, p = 0.932) between microplastic abundance and recreational activities is found. Majority (65.12%) of the microplastics belongs to the size bracket of 300 μm-1 mm and only 34.88% were large microplastics (>1 mm). The Polymers of the microplastics were identified as Polypropylene, HDPE, LDPE, Polystyrene, Polyurethane etc. using Raman spectroscopy. Microplastic fragments comprise 56.32% of the total particles. In terms of colour of the microplastics, white (26.92%) is the most abundant.

The impact of ghost fishing in large coastal ecosystems has generated considerable interest. In smaller, understudied systems with fewer stakeholders, derelict fishing gear (DFGs) may have impacts similar to these larger systems at the same relative scale. Four years of side scan sonar surveys in the Mullica River-Great Bay Estuary (New Jersey, USA) supported the recovery of 1776 DFGs off-season by commercial partners. Locations with high densities of recovered DFGs (>200 DFGs/km²) occupied intersections of recreational vessel traffic and commercial crabbing activity. Condition and depth-in-sediment of recovered DFGs was used to evaluate true bycatch (terrapins, whelks, blue crabs) versus species utilizing degraded gear as habitat (juvenile tautog, oyster toadfish). Critically, gear recovered in-season with low cost sonars (an additional 225 DFGs) prevented the accumulation of new DFGs which likely generate the highest percentages of bycatch. Removal of DFGs in this system led to significant ecological (reduced bycatch), economic (>$61,000 in direct pay, reused gear), and anticipated future benefits (increased harvest).

The hypothesis that carnivorous consumers associated with the seabed are more likely to ingest marine debris was tested based on stomach content analysis of fish (Trichiurus lepturus and species of Ariidae) and cetaceans (Sotalia guianensis and Pontoporia blainvillei). Among 596 stomach contents, only 22 (3.7%) contained debris. The debris was flexible plastic, nylon yard, paper, latex, styrofoam and cigarette filter. The proportion of stomach contents with debris varied among species: P. blainvillei (pelagic demersal consumer) presented the highest frequency of ingestion (15.7%), while T. lepturus (pelagic consumer), S. guianensis (pelagic consumer) and Ariidae (demersal consumer) presented similar frequencies (1.3–1.8%). Therefore, a feeding site in the water column does not predict the probability of debris ingestion. Concerning these species, this probability seems to be more associated with prey-capture strategies (or feeding behavior), regardless of debris availability in the environment.

As microplastic pollution evolved to a well-established research field, microplastic scientists started to explore new avenues in the field. Yet, while a multitude of different types of microplastics (microbeads, fibres, fragments) have been well-documented in microplastic literature, our analysis of this literature shows that glitter particles have been overlooked by the field. However, due to the presence of glitter-based research in forensic science, we explore the idea that glitter may have the potential to act as “flag items” - or markers – of a likely source, due to the often complex and individual composition of glitter particles compared to traditional microplastics, such as microbeads. As such, this article demonstrates glitter has insofar been overlooked as a microplastic particle, and demonstrates that glitter may have an important role in explaining microplastic pollution dynamics from source to sink.

Particle flux material collected in 2000 m depth in the Northeast Atlantic at 33°N and 22°W was analyzed for trace metals and persistent organic pollutants. Element enrichment factors relative to lithogenic Al were elevated indicating possible anthropogenic contributions for all trace metals except V. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls and the pesticide DDT exhibited median fluxes of 10.40 μg m⁻²d⁻¹,0.29 μg m⁻² d⁻¹, and 0.90 μg m⁻² d⁻¹, respectively. Flux composition reflected long range transport, with low molecular weight and low-chlorinated compounds dominating ∑₁₅PAH and ∑₂₃PCB. PAH isomer ratios identified fossil fuel combustion as the main ∑₁₅PAH source. The composition of ∑₄DDT suggested inputs of the fresh technical pesticide during high dust intensity periods. Pollutant fluxes showed seasonality linked to export production in the region, as well as a dependence on annual and sub-annual dust input events.

Despite the increasing interest in microplastic (MP) research, the accurate prevalence, distribution and fate of these materials in the environment is yet poorly known and, consequently, a focus of debate. Hence, to better ascertain the presence of microplastics in specific environments, samples from 35 random sites distributed across a 4200-meter long section from the area of Sidi Mansour, Sfax-Tunisia, were collected and analyzed. MPs were extracted, digested with potassium hydroxide and dyed with Eosin B, for visual microscopy counting and sorting. Polymer composition and surface morphology were identified by FTIR-ATR spectroscopy and SEM microscopy. Total abundances ranged from 252 to-5332 particles per m² where fragments and granules were the most frequent types of microplastics. These findings highlight the considerable presence of these materials in the studied harbor region and underscore the density dependence on the distribution and occurrence of MPs and how these tend to accumulate in the sandy sediments.

The Sergipe River estuary has been subjected to a range of anthropogenic activities including food, plastic, textile, ceramic and metallurgical production plants along with domestic sewage inputs, all of which are of environmental concern. In this study, the levels of fecal coliforms (FC) in surface water samples and sterols in superficial sediment samples collected from the Sergipe River estuary were determined. Based on the FC concentrations, 58% of the water samples were considered Water Potentially Unusable (WPU) according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Concentrations of coprostanol ranged from 13 to 1072 ng g−1, indicating a significant input of sewage at some points in the estuary. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed that there is no clear correlation between the coprostanol and coliform data, which may be due to the high resistance to degradation of coprostanol in sediments and to recent inputs of sewage at the water sample collection points.

The aim of this study was to analyze different port areas (leased, nonleased and vessels) in terms of plastic segregation (scenario 1) and how much of this plastic is recycled (scenario 2). Data envelopment analysis was applied and the variables were total amount of solid waste and percentage of segregated plastic in relation to total solid waste (scenario 1) and amount of segregated plastics and percentage of recycled in relation to segregated plastics (scenario 2). Segregation efficiency was low (49%) in the nonleased area, but all the segregated material is recycled, suggesting that the management bottleneck in this case is waste segregation. Similar segregation results were obtained in the leased areas and vessels (36 and 35%, respectively), but recycling efficiency was greater in the former (92 and 24%, respectively).

Microplastics (plastic particles <5 mm) are an emerging concern in Arctic sea ice with measured concentrations orders of magnitude higher than in surface seawater. However, incorporation of microplastics into sea ice, and their impact on sea ice properties, is unknown. We added microplastic particles in a microcosm experiment to determine microplastic distributions and effects on sea ice properties. Microplastic additions did not affect sea ice growth, but high concentrations of microplastics at the ice surface resulted in high ice salinity and changes in sea ice albedo. Field studies in the Gulf of Bothnia (Baltic Sea) showed sea ice concentration of microplastics from 8 to 41 particles per liter of melted ice, wich were much lower than those found to impact sea ice properties in the microcosm experiments. However, should microplastic concentrations increase, microplastic incorporation in sea ice may impact sea ice albedo.

Narragansett Bay is an urban estuary that historically has been impacted by long-term discharge of sanitary wastewater (WW) effluents. High-density water sampling was conducted in Narragansett Bay, RI, USA, in an effort to understand the distribution and behavior of sucralose, an artificial sweetener that has shown utility as a sanitary wastewater tracer. Water samples were collected at sixty-seven sites and analyzed for sucralose, whose performance was compared to other tracers present in wastewater effluents. Concentrations of sucralose were much higher than the other tracers measured, carbamazepine and caffeine, ranging from 18 to 3180 ng/L and corresponded well with salinity (r² = 0.88), demonstrating conservative behavior throughout the Bay. Mapped interpolation data using an empirical bayesian kriging model clearly show the spatial trends of WW and how estuarine processes influence dilution and dispersion throughout the Bay. These findings provide further evidence of the efficacy of sucralose as a wastewater tracer in large urban estuaries where continuous high-volume discharge of WW occur.