| Abstract |
Microplastics are the small plastic pieces that are retained on a sieve that has openings with diameter less than 32μm, but have a diameter less than 5mm. They appear in the environment either after been broken down from larger pieces, or after they were created with that size to serve a purpose. In the marine environment turn up after direct dump in the sea, or when they are carried away from the land mass, or from when urban waste ends up in the sea. Plastics contain toxic chemicals that can influence the environment, while at the same time, they can become carriers of dangerous pollutants (like Persistent Organic Pollutants), and indirectly transfer them to great distances. The purpose of this work was to find the qualities of the microplastics, their origins, and their position in the sediment and in organisms of macrofauna in 3 sandy beaches of North-East Crete (the beach near the aquaculture, in Sitia by, Pachia Ammos beach, and Analoukas beach). For this reason, there were 2 different sampling dates in which sediment samples were taken in order to find their microplastic contents, as well as samples of macrofauna to find the presence of microplastics in biological tissue. In addition, measures were taken of the physiological characteristics of the beach (inclination, percentage of organic material in the sediment, etc), while at the same time samples of bigger sized plastics were taken, in case there was a connection with the microplastics. Important differences were found for particular categories of microplastics, like those of the foamy plastics, that can be attributed in certain uses of a beach. Also important differences were found comparing with the international bibliography, while at the same time it seems that granulometry directly affects the intrusion of microplastics in deeper layers of the sediment. Macrofauna samples were treated and it appeared that they have consumed microplastics, in larger quantities than the surrounding sediment, and certain arguments are made that the chemical properties of the beach -like the carbon content- has changed due to the presence of microplastics.
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Ποιοτική και ποσοτική εκτίμηση των μικροπλαστικών σε 3 παραλίες της ανατολικής Κρήτης
