Simon Slattery – MSc Student, University of Portsmouth

We have awarded a grant to Simon Slattery, a student on the MSc Coastal and Marine Resource Management course at the University of Portsmouth. Simon previously studied for a BSc in Physical Geography at Portsmouth and while focussed now on the marine environment his previous research included valley dynamics in northern Finland and beach degradation/management in Malta.  As a result of trips around the south coast, he has become interested in the challenge posed by microplastics in the marine environment.

Research Project

In his research project Simon will be look at the amount and type of microplastics that can be found on the shores of around Langstone and Chichester harbours.  Microplastics are small plastic pieces smaller than 5mm in size. They are pervasive and pernicious, being ingested by marine animals and potentially transferring toxins into the food chain.

Previous research has found that significant numbers of microplastics are found in certain areas of shoreline at the entrance to Langstone harbour and in certain parts of Chichester harbour. It is hoped that data and results from this research can be used to identify a pattern to microplastic distribution, potentially linking it to any possible transport mechanisms and coastal processes and hopefully increase our understanding of microplastic distribution.

Research progress reports can be found below

Microplastics and Coastal Sediments – Final Report

Microplastics and Coastal Sediments – Update

[pdf-embedder url=”https://justoneocean.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Simon_Slattery_MSc_dissertation.pdf”]

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