Plastic litter in sediments from a marine area likely to become protected (Aeolian Archipelago's islands, Tyrrhenian sea)

Fastelli, Paolo; Blašković, Andrea; Bernardi, Giulia; Romeo, Teresa; Čižmek, Hrvoje; Andaloro, Franco; Russo, Gìovanni Fulvio; Guerranti, Cristiana; Renzi, Monia

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.08.054

Cited by 85 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…According to literature [42], some rules to reduce cross-contamination of samples were followed. In particular, plastic materials were avoided and substituted with glassware or metals; during sampling handlings synthetic textiles were not allowed and operators wear cotton clothes and 100% cotton lab coat; laboratory surfaces were cleaned with 70% ethanol and paper towels while equipment was accurately rinsed as reported by literature [14,43]. Consumables were used directly from packaging and all working solutions were pre-filtered and stored in glass bottles before the use.…”

Section: Quality Assurance and Quality Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microparticles in Table Salt: Levels and Chemical Composition of the Smallest Dimensional Fraction

Renzi¹,

Grazioli²,

Bertacchini³

et al. 2019

JMSE

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study evaluates the chemical composition of microplastic materials (MPs) and non-synthetic particles in different table salts of marine origin by the µFT-IR technique. This research focuses on the microparticles fraction within 10–150 µm of size. Eleven commercial trademarks coming from Italy (IT = 6) and Croatia (CRO = 5) were grouped in two different cost ranges, cheap (n = 5) and expensive (n = 6) and were analysed in replicates (n = 3). Levels and chemical composition of microparticles measured in commercial products were correlated on a statistical basis to some factors of variability of potential scientific interest (geographical origin of marine salt, cost of commercial products, etc.). Results of analyses performed on the tested size fraction of microparticles (10–150 µm) evidence that: (i) levels of MPs are within 0.17–0.32 items/g (IT) and 0.07–0.20 items/g (CRO); (ii) non-synthetic particles detected are mostly made by fibres made of cellulose acetate; (iii) Nations show a different chemical composition of MPs recovered in analysed trademarks (PET and PVC from Italy; PA, PP, and nylon from Croatia); (iv) the annual amount ingested by humans from marine salt consumption ranges between 131.4–372.3 items/y (CRO) and 306.6–580.35 items/y (IT) considering a dose of 5 g of salt per day; (v) statistics performed on factors of interest evidenced that the geographical origin of marine salt do not affect neither levels nor chemical composition of MPs in tested trademarks; while slight correlations are recorded with non-synthetic particles. Further studies are needed to better explore on statistical basis if both levels and chemical composition of MPs in table salts of marine origin can be used or not as good indicators of marine pollution.

show abstract

Section: Quality Assurance and Quality Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microparticles in Table Salt: Levels and Chemical Composition of the Smallest Dimensional Fraction

Renzi¹,

Grazioli²,

Bertacchini³

et al. 2019

JMSE

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Sediments represent the principal sink for marine litter and plastic particles [18] in which levels of plastic and microplastics ranged within 1.45-10.37 items/kg d.w. as widely reported by scientific literature [19,20]. However, particles are also abundant in the water column at varying depths due to their diverse densities [21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…Given that a correlation between microplastics and grain-size of sediments did not result in previous research [20,[43][44][45], the factor of variability "grain-size of sediment" was not considered in this study. Statistics were performed to evaluate multivariate relationships recorded in tested samples and environmental factors of specific interest (i.e., geographical locations and habitat types).…”

Section: Data Collections and Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Known grey literature were also used if they were shown to be available and suitable for this study. Data on plastic litter were grouped by size (i.e., macroplastics > 5.0 mm, mesoplastics 2.5-5.0 mm and microplastics < 2.5 mm) and shapes (i.e., fibres, fragments, film, other), according to recommendations provided by literature [18,20,42,43]. Colour and chemical types were not considered in this study because these details were not available in all of the scientific articles considered.…”

Section: Data Collections and Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Marine Litter in Transitional Water Ecosystems: State of The Art Review Based on a Bibliometric Analysis

Renzi

Pauna

Provenza³

et al. 2020

Water

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Transitional water ecosystems (TWEs), despite their ecological and economic importance, are largely affected by human pressures that could be responsible for significant inputs of litter in the marine environment. Plastic input in coastal ponds, lagoons, river deltas and estuaries, could be driven by a wide range of human activities such as agriculture, waste disposal, municipal and industrial wastewater effluents, aquaculture, fishing and touristic activities and urban impacts. However, it remains unknown what the impact of plastic input in these TWEs could have on natural capital and, therefore, the ability for an ecosystem to provide goods and services to human beings. Given the large interest with regards to the conservation of transitional water ecosystems and the clear exposure risk to plastic and microplastic pollution, this study aims to perform: (i) a bibliometric analyses on existing literature regarding the levels of marine litter in such environments; (ii) a selection among the available literature of homogeneous data; and (iii) statistical analyses to explore data variability. Results suggest that: (i) research on microplastics in these ecosystems did not begin to be published until 2013 for lagoons, 2014 for river mouths and 2019 for coastal ponds. The majority of articles published on studies of microplastics in lagoons did not occur until 2019; (ii) sediments represent the matrix on which sampling and extraction variability allow the statistical analyses on data reported by the literature; (iii) the Analysis of Similarities (ANOSIM) test two-way evidenced that the level of protection of marine and terrestrial areas produced similar values while the habitat type showed low significance in terms of its effect on microplastic levels, shape and size in sediments.

show abstract

“…Microplastics -those with a diameter of 1-5000 μm -represent the largest toxicological threat, as they are easily transmitted into the marine food web. 32 According to a study aimed at providing a baseline overview of the plastic situation in the Aeolian Islands, microplastics were the most documented type of plastic debris (>94%). The amount of microplastics found in the Aeolian area was relatively higher than in other parts of the world (e.g., Belgium, Germany, Singapore, and Slovenia), and was considered to be in the medium-to-high range.…”

Section: Executive Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards the creation of a marine protected area in the Aeolian Islands. Results of the 2018 Aeolian Expedition

Álvarez¹,

Perry²,

Garcı́a³

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Aeolian archipelago, off the northern coast of Sicily, has long been recognised as a major area of importance for marine biodiversity. The waters surrounding these volcanic islands are characterised by steeply sloped bottoms that host a wide array of habitats – including seagrass meadows, seamounts, and hydrothermal vents – over a large depth range, and are home to iconic species such as loggerhead sea turtle, sperm whale, swordfish, and bluefin tuna. In 1982, the Aeolian Islands were formally identified under Italian law as the site of a potential marine protected area (MPA). Years later, in 2016, the Italian government committed to establishing an Aeolian MPA and began the official process to create it. Critically, this process depends on in‑depth knowledge about marine life in Aeolian waters. However, only limited research had been carried out on deep‑sea ecosystems in the archipelago. While earlier studies by Oceana and others had suggested the presence of important deep‑sea ecosystems in Aeolian waters, detailed information was lacking. To address this data gap, Oceana carried out a one‑month research expedition in 2018. Surveys were conducted across the Aeolian archipelago, using a combination of methods to study seabed habitats and species down to a depth of 989 m. The expedition documented a wide variety of ecosystems, ranging from meadows of seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) in the shallowest areas, to gardens of gorgonians (such as Bebryce mollis, Swiftia dubia, and Villogorgia bebrycoides) and forests and aggregations of black corals (such as Antipathes dichotoma, Antipathella subpinnata and Leiopathes glaberrima) at intermediate depths, and glass sponge aggregations (Farrea bowerbanki) on the deepest rocky bottoms surveyed.

show abstract

Plastic litter in sediments from a marine area likely to become protected (Aeolian Archipelago's islands, Tyrrhenian sea)

Cited by 85 publications

References 14 publications

Microparticles in Table Salt: Levels and Chemical Composition of the Smallest Dimensional Fraction

Microparticles in Table Salt: Levels and Chemical Composition of the Smallest Dimensional Fraction

Marine Litter in Transitional Water Ecosystems: State of The Art Review Based on a Bibliometric Analysis

Towards the creation of a marine protected area in the Aeolian Islands. Results of the 2018 Aeolian Expedition

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About