Marine plastic studies in the Mid-water column of the North Indian Ocean

Marine plastics (MPs) are recognized as an emerging contaminant of growing concern in the marine environment. This paper documents the MP in the mid-water column of data scarce North Indian Ocean. The study utilized data from seven expeditions during 2018 and 2019 in the monsoon, pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. The microplastics samples were collected along three sampling transects in the open ocean waters of Bay of Bengal meridional (BoB), Arabian Sea meridional (AS), International shipping route (IS) and stations near selected river discharge areas (Coastal locations). At each station, samples collected using vertical haul of the multi-plankton net (MPN) are analyzed for microplastics more prominent than 300 micrometers in the top 100 m of the water column. The present study shows that microplastics are observed in almost all the locations in the Open Ocean sample of 100m water column in different seasons.