Microplastics particles in seafloor sediments along the Arabian Sea and the Andaman Sea continental shelves: First insight on the occurrence, identification, and characterization

Highlights: • First report on microplastics pollution in the Arabian-Andaman Seas shelf sediments. • Microplastics levels were higher in the Arabian Sea sediments than the Andaman Sea. • Fiber constituted the most common shape of microplastics in both of the study areas. • Acrylic, polyethylene, and nylon were the most common polymer types recorded. Microplastics (MPs) are widely-recognized contaminants and marine sediments act as a sink of MPs and therefore may cause a potential threat to benthic communities. We aim to analyze the MPs abundances and characteristics in the seafloor sediments from the continental shelves of the Arabian and Andaman seas. Twenty-two seafloor sediments were collected from 8 and 14 locations of the Arabian and Andaman seas, respectively. MPs concentrations varied from not detected (ND) to 267 particles kg⁻¹ with mean values of 128.02 ± 33.92 and 15.36 ± 2.61 particles kg⁻¹, respectively for the Arabian and Andaman seas. Among different shapes, fiber had the highest distribution over fragments and pellet. FT-IR analysis revealed acrylic was most dominant polymer, followed by polyethylene, and nylon. Mean MP concentration at the Arabian Sea was significantly higher (p < 0.001) than in the Andaman Sea. The present study revealed the wide-spread occurrence of MPs throughout the Indian seas.