Typhoon Microplastic Project

iSea in collaboration with the  Athanasios C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation along with the assistance of Typhoon's ship crew, in the context of the "Typhoon Project" studies the existance, the abundance and the composition of micorplastics in the Greek seas and coasts.

Microplastics are plastic pieces smaller than 5 mm. Depending on their origin, they are divided into "primary" and "secondary" microplastics. They are also separated in the following categories, based on their shape 1) pellets, 2) fragments 3) filaments 4) foam and 5) film

Primary microplastics are those that enter the environment when their dimension is <5mm. They are produced through industrial production and are mainly used in personal care products, creams, cosmetics, toothpaste, etc. Over time they tend to be replaced by environmentally friendly materials.

Secondary microplastics come from the degradation and the corrosion of larger plastic items into smaller plastic fragments once they reach marine or land ecosystems (GESAMP 2015). Weather conditions tend to facilitate the degradation of plastic items that are already in the environment.

Sediment samples were collected as well as surface water samples using a manta net. The sediment samples are analyzed and a density separation procedure is utilised, using the density difference between particles. Then, we removed the filters with metallic tweezers and microplastics were put on a stereoscope in order to identify the microplastics by the spectrometry Paman method. 

Main objectives of the project are:

Find the project's report here:

Project's team:

Partner:

The project is implemented with the collaboration of the Environmental Chemistry Team of the Chemistry Department of the University of Patras