#FridayScience 2

Tous on Fridays, we popularize one or more studies on microplastics in the Mediterranean.

Compilation of existing data on micro-plastic pollution in the Western Mediterranean on an interactive map

Nous avons compilé dans cette carte interactive de l'ensemble des mesures des micro-plastiques de surface réalisées dans 4 scientific publications.

2 things stand out:

The strong concentration on the whole of the Mediterranean. Indeed 1 item/m² represents 1,000,000 particles/km²
The unequal distribution of surface microplastics, these moving while being subjected to numerous constraints such as winds, currents as well as movements in the water column. They then sometimes leave the surface.

Bibliography :

[1] Amandine Collignon, Jean-Henri Hecq, François Glagani, Pierre Voisin, France Collard, Anne Goffart,
Neustonic microplastic and zooplankton in the North Western Mediterranean Sea,
Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 64, Issue 4, 2012, Pages 861-864,

[2] Luis F. Ruiz-Orejón, Rafael Sardá, Juan Ramis-Pujol,
Now, you see me: High concentrations of floating plastic debris in the coastal waters of the Balearic Islands (Spain),

Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 133, 2018, Pages 636-646,

[3] Luis F. Ruiz-Orejón, Rafael Sardá, Juan Ramis-Pujol,
Floating plastic debris in the Central and Western Mediterranean Sea,
Marine Environmental Research, Volume 120, 2016, Pages 136-144,

[4] William P. de Haan, Anna Sanchez-Vidal, Miquel Canals

Corrigendum to “Floating microplastics and aggregate formation in the Western Mediterranean Sea”

Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 142, May 2019, Pages 242

Data processing: Aitor Fernandez, Clea Abello

GUI: Benjamin Pannetier