Abundance, morphology, and spatio-temporal variation of microplastics at the beaches of Mumbai, India

Microplastics are a class of emerging pollutants ubiquitously found in the marine environment worldwide. Understanding the extent and nature of microplastics pollution in various coastal environments is important to propose any remediation measures. This study is attempted to explore the extent of microplastics (MPs) contamination in the sediments and water columns of three selected beaches (i.e., Aksa, Versova, and Girgaon Chowpatty) of Mumbai, one of the most populated cities of India, giving insights regarding the morphological characteristics, and spatio-temporal variation. The higher MPs contamination was observed during summer in all beaches. Spatial variation was also observed in this study with higher abundance in Versova and Girgaon Chowpatty beaches compared to Aksa beach. The mean value of MPs in marine sediments and seawater column were 204 +/- 110 particles kg-1 and 103 +/- 60 particles L-1 respectively. Beads were the most predominant types of MPs, while fibres were the least contributory in both the sediments and seawater column. Most of the observed particles lied in the size range between 0.45 to 500 mu m. This observed trend of abundance of smaller size fraction suggests the possibility of potential threat to aquatic organisms.(c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.