CHARACTERIZATION OF MICROPLASTICS IN MARINE SEDIMENTS FROM THE GULF OF TEHUANTEPEC, MEXICAN PACIFIC, Carpathian Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences February 2024, Vol. 19, No. 2, p. 255 – 264; DOI:10.26471/cjees/2024/019/296 - Carpathian Journal of Earth And Environmental Sciences

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Mayla A. RAMOS-VÁZQUEZ¹, Sanjeet K. VERMA¹, John S. ARMSTRONG-ALTRIN^2,3,*, Rathinam A. JAMES³, & Jayagopal MADHAVARAJU⁴

¹División de Geociencias Aplicadas, Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (IPICYT), Camino a la Presa San José 2055, San Luis Potosí 78216, México

²Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Unidad de Procesos Oceánicos y Costeros, Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de México 04510, México

³Department of Marine Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirapalli, 620024, Tamil Nadu, India

⁴Estación Regional del Noroeste, Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Hermosillo, Sonora, México

* Corresponding author: armstrong@cmarl.unam.mx

CHARACTERIZATION OF MICROPLASTICS IN MARINE SEDIMENTS FROM THE GULF OF TEHUANTEPEC, MEXICAN PACIFIC, Carpathian Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences February 2024, Vol. 19, No. 2, p. 255 – 264; DOI:10.26471/cjees/2024/019/296

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Microplastics (MPs), a universal pollutant is widely distributed in sediments, which attracted the environmental researchers worldwide. MPs are harmful may adsorb toxic compounds present in the environment, which can be ingested by benthic organisms and easily transfer to humans. We investigated the distribution of MPs and its types in beach sediments from the Tehuantepec River mouth, Gulf of Tehuantepec, Mexican Pacific coast. MPs are categorized by their size, shape, color, and polymer types. 73 % of MPs detected are < 5 mm in size. Fiber and colorless are mostly dominated in all samples. The fibers are weathered and degraded with adhered particles on their surfaces. The polymer types detected are polyacrylamide (PAM) and poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA), which are rarely reported in Mexico beach sediments. The prevalence of colorless MPs at the Gulf of Tehuantepec beach needs further attention.