polluted by microplastics. Despite this, Kang et al. (2015) have shown that the
release of microplastic is higher in raining season than in waterless season.
Beaches in India are not so polluted by microplastics. It was found between 2 and
178 items per m
2 , in contrast to the results obtained for the Maldives Islands, where
more than 600 items per m
2 were reported (Imhof et al. 2017; Karthik et al. 2018).
The origin of the contamination in this isolated island could be generated in the
nearby islands in Maldives, where tourism is more frequent. Debris can also enter
this island from many coastal areas of the Indian Ocean. Eriksen et al. (2014)
estimated the amount of microplastics in surface waters along the Indian Ocean
between 7000 and 8000 items per km
2 .
On the other hand, average concentrations in open seas have also been measured.
Isobe et al. (2015) investigated the concentrations of microplastics in the East Asian
Seas around Japan and obtained a total particle concentration of about 1.72 million
Fig. 1.13 Abundance of microplastics in sediment and water samples from different marine
systems, i.e., beaches, estuaries, or marine water, across Asia. The abundances present in sediments
are expressed in items per m
2 or items per kg, while the abundances in water are expressed in items
per m
3 (Sources of data: Chen et al. (2018), Fok and Cheung (2015), Heo et al. (2013), Imhof et al.
(2017), Lee et al. (2013), Naji et al. (2017), Zhao et al. (2014), Zhu et al. (2018). Source of figure:
Original production)
22
V. Godoy et al.
release of microplastic is higher in raining season than in waterless season.
Beaches in India are not so polluted by microplastics. It was found between 2 and
178 items per m
2 , in contrast to the results obtained for the Maldives Islands, where
more than 600 items per m
2 were reported (Imhof et al. 2017; Karthik et al. 2018).
The origin of the contamination in this isolated island could be generated in the
nearby islands in Maldives, where tourism is more frequent. Debris can also enter
this island from many coastal areas of the Indian Ocean. Eriksen et al. (2014)
estimated the amount of microplastics in surface waters along the Indian Ocean
between 7000 and 8000 items per km
2 .
On the other hand, average concentrations in open seas have also been measured.
Isobe et al. (2015) investigated the concentrations of microplastics in the East Asian
Seas around Japan and obtained a total particle concentration of about 1.72 million
Fig. 1.13 Abundance of microplastics in sediment and water samples from different marine
systems, i.e., beaches, estuaries, or marine water, across Asia. The abundances present in sediments
are expressed in items per m
2 or items per kg, while the abundances in water are expressed in items
per m
3 (Sources of data: Chen et al. (2018), Fok and Cheung (2015), Heo et al. (2013), Imhof et al.
(2017), Lee et al. (2013), Naji et al. (2017), Zhao et al. (2014), Zhu et al. (2018). Source of figure:
Original production)
22
V. Godoy et al.