Dataset Overview | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Concentrations of buoyant microplastics and mesoplastics in the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas collected from 2019-06-04 to 2019-06-14 (NCEI Accession 0279323)

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This study estimated the concentration of buoyant microplastics (i.e. plastics measuring less than 5mm; reported in unit of pieces/km2) and mesoplastics (i.e. plastics measuring 5mm – 20cm; reported in unit of pieces/km2) in the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas collected from 2019-06-04 to 2019-06-14. Microplastics in the surface water were collected using a manta net. This dataset contains the results from all 20 surface water samples, in a spreadsheet format.

Dataset Citation

Cite as: Caldwell, Jessica; Muff, Livius; Pham, Christopher; Petri-Fink, Alke; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara; Lehner, Roman (2023). Concentrations of buoyant microplastics and mesoplastics in the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas collected from 2019-06-04 to 2019-06-14 (NCEI Accession 0279323). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0279323. Accessed [date].

Dataset Identifiers

ISO 19115-2 Metadata

gov.noaa.nodc:0279323

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Download Data	HTTPS (download) Navigate directly to the URL for data access and direct download. FTP (download) These data are available through the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). FTP is no longer supported by most internet browsers. You may copy and paste the FTP link to the data into an FTP client (e.g., FileZilla or WinSCP).
Distribution Formats	Excel
Ordering Instructions	Contact NCEI for other distribution options and instructions.
Distributor	NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information +1-301-713-3277 NCEI.Info@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact	NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information ncei.info@noaa.gov

Time Period	2019-06-04 to 2019-06-14
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates	West: 9.047283 East: 10.468907 South: 41.51345 North: 44.34405
Spatial Coverage Map

General Documentation

NCEI Dataset Landing Page
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Descriptive Information
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Associated Resources

The NOAA NCEI Global Marine Microplastics Database (1972-present)
- NCEI Collection
  Navigate directly to the URL for data access and direct download.
Caldwell J, Muff LF, Pham CK, Petri-Fink A, Rothen-Rutishauser B, Lehner R. Spatial and temporal analysis of meso- and microplastic pollution in the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 2020 Aug 06; 159, 111515.
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111515
  journal article

gov.noaa.nodc:NCEI-Marine-Microplastics

Publication Dates	publication: 2023-06-23
Data Presentation Form	Digital table - digital representation of facts or figures systematically displayed, especially in columns
Dataset Progress Status	Complete - production of the data has been completed Historical archive - data has been stored in an offline storage facility
Data Update Frequency	As needed
Supplemental Information	Submission Package ID: PNUBR9
Purpose	These microplastic and mesoplastic concentration data were collected in order to determine their abundance in the surface waters of the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas during 2019-06-04 to 2019-06-14.
Use Limitations	accessLevel: Public Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives.

Dataset Citation	Cite as: Caldwell, Jessica; Muff, Livius; Pham, Christopher; Petri-Fink, Alke; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara; Lehner, Roman (2023). Concentrations of buoyant microplastics and mesoplastics in the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas collected from 2019-06-04 to 2019-06-14 (NCEI Accession 0279323). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0279323. Accessed [date].
Cited Authors	Caldwell, Jessica Muff, Livius Pham, Christopher Petri-Fink, Alke Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara Lehner, Roman Sail and Explore Association
Contributors	University of Fribourg
Resource Providers	Roman Lehner Sail and Explore Association Sail and Explore Association
Points of Contact	Ebenezer Nyadjro Mississippi State University; Northern Gulf Institute (NGI)
Publishers	NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
Acknowledgments	Related Funding Agency: Swiss National Science Foundation (# 190287)

Theme keywords	NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS microplastic concentration NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS in situ laboratory analyses WMO_CategoryCode oceanography Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > WATER QUALITY > SEA SURFACE CONTAMINANTS > MICROPLASTIC CONCENTRATION
Data Center keywords	NODC COLLECTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS University of Fribourg NODC SUBMITTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS Sail and Explore Association
Instrument keywords	NODC INSTRUMENT TYPES THESAURUS Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer Manta net microscope Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Instrument Keywords FTIR SPECTROMETER > Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer MICROSCOPES > MICROSCOPES NETS > NETS
Place keywords	NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS Ligurian Sea Mediterranean Sea Tyrrhenian Sea Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords OCEAN > ATLANTIC OCEAN > NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN > MEDITERRANEAN SEA
Keywords	NCEI ACCESSION NUMBER 0279323

Use Constraints	Cite as: Caldwell, Jessica; Muff, Livius; Pham, Christopher; Petri-Fink, Alke; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara; Lehner, Roman (2023). Concentrations of buoyant microplastics and mesoplastics in the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas collected from 2019-06-04 to 2019-06-14 (NCEI Accession 0279323). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0279323. Accessed [date].
Access Constraints	Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
Fees	In most cases, electronic downloads of the data are free. However, fees may apply for custom orders, data certifications, copies of analog materials, and data distribution on physical media.

Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps	2023-06-23T15:28:39Z - NCEI Accession 0279323 v1.1 was published.
Output Datasets	NCEI Accession 0279323 v1.1 NCEI Accession 0279323 v1.1 (download) published 2023-06-23T15:28:39Z

Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps	Parameter or Variable: microplastic concentration (measured); Units: pieces/km2; Observation Category: in situ; Sampling Instrument: Manta net; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Surface samples were collected in the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Sea in 30-minute intervals using a manta trawl (330 μm mesh; 16 × 61 cm frame opening). The trawl was towed at an average speed of 2 knots on either starboard or port side; with the side used for collection being altered to ensure collection always occurred upwind from the vessel. To position the trawl, a spinnaker pole was used. The spinnaker pole put the trawl 2 m away from the vessel, thus ensuring it was outside of the wake and that loss of samples due to downwelling of debris was avoided. The outer side of the trawl's collection net was rinsed with fresh water to ensure that plastic particles sticking to the sides of the net were washed into the final collection bag. Once the entire sample was washed into the collection bag, it was emptied over a 300 μm mesh size metal sieve. Plastic particles that were larger than 300 μm were collected from the sieve using metal tweezers. After the initial sieving, filtered (metal sieve; 100 μm mesh) saltwater was added into sample containers in order to density separate smaller plastic particles from the other organic matter collected. Plastic particles found floating on the surface of the filtered saltwater were collected with metal tweezers. Additional sorting of particles whose material composition was still uncertain after the density separation was conducted using a dissecting stereo microscope (Leica) and laboratory tweezers. At least two crew members checked each sample to increase the likelihood that all plastic particles were detected. All plastic particles were then transferred to 50 mL Falcon tubes and transported to a laboratory for further analysis. The final sorted samples in their respective falcon tubes were dried under vacuum 24 h at 65 °C in a Binder vacuum oven prior to their final storage for future studies. Once the particles were completely dry, the mass of each sample was obtained using an AG204 Delta Range balance (readability and repeatability 0.1 mg (Mettler-Toledo, 2004)). Dried particles were then placed on a grid composed of 5 mm by 5 mm squares; thus allowing for the further differentiation of particles which belonged to the meso- and micro-size categories; and photographed with a Canon EOS 70D.; Data Quality Method: To prevent contamination, samples remained in sealed containers until their handling was necessary and cotton lab coats and latex gloves were worn during the handling. Analysis of the chemical fingerprints from representative particles were conducted. Briefly, a Perkin Elmer Spectrum 65 FTIR Spectrometer equipped with a Perkin Elmer universal attenuated total reflection (UATR) accessory and pressure arm was used to obtain the chemical fingerprints of the total 561 representative particles. A combination of 10 spectra ranging from 4000 cm−1 to 650 cm−1 were collected and averaged for each particle, analyzed with the accompanying Perkin Elmer Spectrum 10 software, and compared to the pristine polymer spectra in the Fluka library. Best matches (typically>70% similarity) provided by the library are reported..

Lineage information for: dataset

Processing Steps

Parameter or Variable: microplastic concentration (measured); Units: pieces/km2; Observation Category: in situ; Sampling Instrument: Manta net; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Surface samples were collected in the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Sea in 30-minute intervals using a manta trawl (330 μm mesh; 16 × 61 cm frame opening). The trawl was towed at an average speed of 2 knots on either starboard or port side; with the side used for collection being altered to ensure collection always occurred upwind from the vessel. To position the trawl, a spinnaker pole was used. The spinnaker pole put the trawl 2 m away from the vessel, thus ensuring it was outside of the wake and that loss of samples due to downwelling of debris was avoided. The outer side of the trawl's collection net was rinsed with fresh water to ensure that plastic particles sticking to the sides of the net were washed into the final collection bag. Once the entire sample was washed into the collection bag, it was emptied over a 300 μm mesh size metal sieve. Plastic particles that were larger than 300 μm were collected from the sieve using metal tweezers. After the initial sieving, filtered (metal sieve; 100 μm mesh) saltwater was added into sample containers in order to density separate smaller plastic particles from the other organic matter collected. Plastic particles found floating on the surface of the filtered saltwater were collected with metal tweezers. Additional sorting of particles whose material composition was still uncertain after the density separation was conducted using a dissecting stereo microscope (Leica) and laboratory tweezers. At least two crew members checked each sample to increase the likelihood that all plastic particles were detected. All plastic particles were then transferred to 50 mL Falcon tubes and transported to a laboratory for further analysis. The final sorted samples in their respective falcon tubes were dried under vacuum 24 h at 65 °C in a Binder vacuum oven prior to their final storage for future studies. Once the particles were completely dry, the mass of each sample was obtained using an AG204 Delta Range balance (readability and repeatability 0.1 mg (Mettler-Toledo, 2004)). Dried particles were then placed on a grid composed of 5 mm by 5 mm squares; thus allowing for the further differentiation of particles which belonged to the meso- and micro-size categories; and photographed with a Canon EOS 70D.; Data Quality Method: To prevent contamination, samples remained in sealed containers until their handling was necessary and cotton lab coats and latex gloves were worn during the handling. Analysis of the chemical fingerprints from representative particles were conducted. Briefly, a Perkin Elmer Spectrum 65 FTIR Spectrometer equipped with a Perkin Elmer universal attenuated total reflection (UATR) accessory and pressure arm was used to obtain the chemical fingerprints of the total 561 representative particles. A combination of 10 spectra ranging from 4000 cm−1 to 650 cm−1 were collected and averaged for each particle, analyzed with the accompanying Perkin Elmer Spectrum 10 software, and compared to the pristine polymer spectra in the Fluka library. Best matches (typically>70% similarity) provided by the library are reported..

Acquisition Information (collection)
Instrument	Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer Manta net microscope

Last Modified: 2023-06-25T17:04:12Z
For questions about the information on this page, please email: ncei.info@noaa.gov

Concentrations of buoyant microplastics and mesoplastics in the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas collected from 2019-06-04 to 2019-06-14 (NCEI Accession 0279323)

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