CIMA researchers Eloah Rosas, Flávio Martins, João Janeiro, Fernando Mendonça and Lara Mills, along with researcher Marko Tosic from EAFIT/Colombia, recently published a paper focused on characterizing the potential pathways and hot spot of microplastics originating in southern Portuguese coastal waters (SW Iberian). The study applied a numerical model to track virtual particles over an 11-year period along the SW Iberian and surrounding, distinguishing between surface and submerged particles. Our results indicate that microplastics from the SW Iberian Peninsula follow diverse pathways at different depths, while also serving as a significant source of microplastics for the Mediterranean Sea, Morocco, the Canary Islands, the Iberian Peninsula, and the Bay of Biscay. Such data can help raise awareness about the impact of microplastic on the local environment, as well as assistance in regional marine litter monitoring and clean-up efforts
