RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Three-dimensional evaluation of beaches of oceanic islands as reservoirs of plastic particles in the open ocean.
A1 Díaz Peña, Francisco Javier
A1 Pham, Christopher K.
A1 Estevez, Sofia G.
A1 Pereira, Joao M.
A1 Herrera, Laura
A1 Rodríguez, Yasmina
A1 Domínguez Hernández, Cristopher
A1 Villanova Solano, Cristina
A1 Hernández Sánchez, Cintia
A1 Hernández Borges, Javier
K1 Microplastics
K1 North Atlantic
K1 Buried plastics
K1 Beach litter
K1 Beach debris
K1 Macaronesia
AB The quantification of plastic debris on beaches has been extensively used as an indicator of plastic pollution in the marine environment. However, most efforts have focused on surface layers, with few investigations looking deeper into the substrate, thus underestimating total standing stocks. Such information is crucial to improve our understanding of where plastic accumulates in the oceans. In this study, we investigated the three-dimensional distribution of plastic (>1 mm) in three sandy beaches located in oceanic islands of the North Atlantic (Azores and the Canary Islands) that are known to accumulate significant quantities of small plastic debris at the surface layer. On each beach, we collected a total of 16 sediment cores down to 1 m depth, from the high tide line up to the backshore following a stratified random sampling design spread across four different levels across the beach. Samples were taken every 10 cm down to 1 m into the sand. Our results revealed the presence of plastic items in the deepest layers with subsurface layers accounting for 84 % of the total plastic abundance and with a similar pattern in terms of size, shape, colour and composition. Furthermore, we found increasing plastic concentrations towards the upper levels of the beach, indicating longer term accumulation in the backshore. Collectively, this study suggests that the plastic items reaching sandy beaches of the Macaronesia are being incorporated into its deepest layers, acting as reservoirs of plastic in the open ocean.
YR 2023
FD 2023
LK http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/35956
UL http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/35956
LA en
NO https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165798
DS Repositorio institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna
RD 12-may-2024