Microplastics threaten marine environment along Kanyakumari coast
Microplastics threaten marine environment along Kanyakumari coast
New Delhi (India Science Wire). Microplastics
are usually plastic particles of less than 5 mm. It may be primary or secondary
microplastics which can be found in coastal environments all over the world. Also, the
microplastics are much more hazardous than macroplastics because of their
availability in all levels of marine food webs.
In a study conducted by the Department of Remote Sensing, Bharathidasan
University covering eight different sampling stations along a 71 km long
coastline with both urbanized beaches and undisturbed coastal areas along the
Indian Ocean, the researchers assessed the magnitude of the microplastic
pollution problem.The study revealed that microplastic
is one of the carriers of major pollution to the marine environment found along
the entire Kanyakumari coastal stretch of southernmost India.The study came out
withbaseline data that helpedin understanding the
occurrence and distribution of microplastics (MPs) in the near-shore sediments.The
researchers said that further studies would help in understanding the transport
of microplastics as well as evaluate their interaction with the marine
ecosystem of the region.
Researchers found an overall higher abundance of microplastics at the
urbanized beaches as compared to undisturbed beaches due to significant human
influence such as tourism activities as well as fishing.While
tourist beaches had high levels of microplastics, more remote beaches and
fishing ports also exhibited large amounts of microplastic pollution with
plastic debris accumulation to the highest degree affecting the marine
food web.
When sediments were analyzed, it was found that the tourist beaches
have a microplastics pollution with 150 particles (44%), harbor beaches with 99
particles (28.5%) and the coastal stretches along the undisturbed areas with 15
particles (4.3%). These items also likely tocontain fibres from clothing and
other synthetic textiles almost twofold more as compared with the tiny
fragments from larger objects that had broken down over time.
In the present study, scientists tracked microplastics samples from different beach sediments, the average of
which is found to be up to 43 particles per 50 g dry sediments.New research would help to identify mechanisms that influence their transport and deposition in
the coastal sediments as well as evaluate the possible interaction between
microplastic particles and marine ecosystems. The authorsurged
policymakers and consumers to take proactive actions focusing on measures that
can stop the plastics from intruding and polluting the ocean.
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Photo evidence of litters in beaches of Kanyakumari coastal stretch, Southern India |
The study has been published in the journal Environmental Science and
Pollution Research and was funded by the Department of Science and Technology
under the PURSE II scheme.
(India Science Wire)