Rivers are one of the main sources of pollution by microplastics (5 to 0.0001 mm in size) and nanoplastics (smaller than 0.0001mm) in the oceans. Estuaries, as transition zones between rivers and the sea, are major hotspots for the accumulation of these particles, which are retained in sediments. They pose a threat to aquatic ecosystems given their ability to capture harmful chemicals from the surrounding environment, enter the food-web through ingestion, and bioaccumulate towards higher trophic levels, including valuable commercial species.
These are the main conclusions of the international project "i-plastic" in which the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) participates, and which has analyzd the presence of micro and nanoplastics in estuaries and their adjacent coasts. READ FULL ARTICLE