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Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Protocol for Microplastics Sampling on the Sea Surface and Sample Analysis
Published on: December 16, 2016
Microplastics in a salt-wedge estuary: Vertical structure and tidal dynamics
Sophie Defontaine1, Damien Sous2, Javier Tesan3
1CNRS/Univ. Pau & Pays Adour/E2S UPPA, Laboratoire de Mathématiques et de leurs Applications de Pau - Fédération MIRA, UMR5142, 64000 Pau, France.
Abstract:
The abundance and distribution of microplastics in estuaries have been barely documented, and generally without accounting for the vertical structure in the water column. This study presents the very first data on the occurrence and distribution of microplastics in the Adour Estuary, SW France. The experimental data set was complemented by numerical simulations to gain understanding of the behaviour of suspended microplastics. Microplastics were found throughout the water column with a mean abundance of 1.13 part/m3. Films and fragments were the most abundant types of particles collected. Numerical simulations demonstrated that vertical distribution of microplastics in the water column is highly dependent on particle characteristics and on the local hydrodynamics. The main trend is that neutrally-buoyant microplastics are easily flushed out while heavier microplastics are prone to entrapment in the estuary, in particular under low discharge conditions. The present study suggest that estuaries could be a sink of microplastics.
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