Plastic occurrence in Macaronesia: Three years of monitoring on forty-six beaches across nineteen islands in an Atlantic region
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: for macroplastics, with the Canary Islands being the archipelago with the highest concentrations. Fragments (83.3 %), with a predominance of white and colourless (62.9 %), and polyethylene and polypropylene as the main types of polymer, 81.2 % and 11.4 %, respectively, were the plastic particles mainly found. Monitoring of 28 previously unstudied beaches revealed the presence of 5 new hotspots of plastic arrival. Statistical analysis revealed that beaches with northwest to east orientations were receiving a higher concentration of plastic litter than the opposite orientations. However, in the central group of the Azores, a notable hotspot was found on a beach oriented toward the southwest. These spatial patterns clearly reflect the influence of prevailing ocean currents associated with the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre, which plays a key role in transporting plastic debris throughout the region. These results may contribute to a better understanding of plastic transport phenomena in a vast oceanic region such as Macaronesia and provide a foundation for further studies in other areas.
Authors: Cristopher Domínguez-Hernández, Cristina Villanova-Solano, Soledad Álvarez, Sergio J. Álvarez-Méndez, Adeline Alves, João Canning-Clode, Mara de Castro Abu-Raya, Francisco J. Díaz-Peña, Sofia Garcia, May Gómez, Javier González-Sálamo, Cintia Hernández-Sánchez, Laura Herrera, Alicia Herrera, Sofía Huelbes, Ico Martínez, Natacha Nogueira, João M. Pereira, Christopher K. Pham, Yasmina Rodríguez, Patrício Ramalhosa, Clara Rodrigues, Amarita Tavares, Leila Teixeira, Javier Hernández-Borges
Language: English
Subfield: Pollution
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life below water
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,250
Awards: G1081579998, G6357214726, G8297709589
OpenAlex ID: W4417042348