TUTORIAL 5 INTRO: Microplastics Detection
Microplastic pollution is a topic of growing global concern. Due to their highly durable characteristics, plastics never fully decompose in nature (Martí et al., 2020). When exposed to the elements, physical abrasion due to wind and wave action, as well as thermal and photodegradation, leads to the fragmentation of plastics into increasingly smaller pieces, forming what are known as macro-plastics (larger than 25 mm), meso-plastics (from 25 mm to 5 mm), microplastics (from 5 mm to 1 μm), and nanoplastics (smaller than 1 μm) (Jeyasanta et al., 2020, Hengstmann et al., 2018). While increasing research focuses on microplastics, there is a significant knowledge gap regarding their abundance and distribution in coastal areas, and how this is affected by seasonality and socioeconomic factors. AKTI Project and Research Centre has been conducting field research on the detection of microplastics since 2022, creating a first-of-its-kind dataset of microplastic concentrations on Cypriot beaches. Based on a robust method, sediment samples are collected from 10 beaches four times a year (in March, July, September, and December) and analysed to determine microplastic abundance. This tutorial will inform participants about the issues of marine plastic pollution, focusing on microplastic sources, impacts and solutions, as well as techniques for microplastic identification from beach sediments. During the hands-on activity, participants will be guided towards the implementation of the microplastic collection and identification method, from sediment collection to sieving, suspension and visual analysis through a stereo microscope.