West African coast emerges as key source of microlitter in the South Atlantic Ocean
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 12-Jun-2026 19:16 ET (12-Jun-2026 23:16 GMT/UTC)
Most of the microlitter present in the South Atlantic Ocean originates from the West African coast and is particularly concentrated in areas near the equator and off the coast of Brazil. This is demonstrated by a study conducted by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), Spain, which has successfully identified in detail the main geographical sources of these microparticles, their large-scale distribution, and the processes that drive their accumulation in the ocean.
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