1. Microplastic pollution on island beaches, Oahu, Hawai'i
- Author
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Savannah Franklin Rey, Sergio J. Rey, Janet Franklin, and Borrelle, Stephanie Belle
- Subjects
Empirical data ,Topography ,Beaches ,Microplastics ,Marine and Aquatic Sciences ,Tides ,Oceanography ,High tide ,Oceans ,Water Pollutants ,media_common ,Islands ,Sedimentary Geology ,Marine Ecosystems ,Multidisciplinary ,Ecology ,Physics ,Geology ,Geophysics ,Physical Sciences ,Medicine ,Environmental Monitoring ,Research Article ,Pollution ,General Science & Technology ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Storm tide ,Science ,Chemical ,Bathing Beaches ,Hawaii ,Ecosystems ,Marine ecosystem ,Petrology ,Landforms ,Ecology and Environmental Sciences ,Biology and Life Sciences ,Aquatic Environments ,Geomorphology ,Ocean Tides ,Bodies of Water ,Marine Environments ,Earth Sciences ,Environmental science ,Sediment ,Water Pollutants, Chemical - Abstract
We report microplastic densities on windward beaches of Oahu, Hawai`i, USA, an island that received about 6 million tourist visits a year. Microplastic densities, surveyed on six Oahu beaches, were highest on the beaches with the coarsest sands, associated with high wave energy. On those beaches, densities were very high (700–1700 particles m-2), as high as those recorded on other remote island beaches worldwide. Densities were higher at storm tide lines than high tide lines. Results from our study provide empirical data on the distribution of microplastics on the most populated and visited of the Hawaiian islands.
- Published
- 2020