CEFAS39ac5907-4734-4fd6-8af5-c7f9fb69b39c English dataset Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft Laboratory (CEFAS) Cefas Lowestoft Laboratory Pakefield Road Lowestoft Suffolk NR33 0HT UK data.manager@cefas.co.uk pointOfContact 2025-09-18T12:40:21 EPSG Geodetic Parameter Registry 2022-01-07 revision WGS 84 Micoplastics data from sediment cores collected in the North Sea between 2023 and 2024 and the Celtic Sea during 2023 2025-09-18 publication 2025-09-18 revision 2025-09-09 creation CEFAS22311 https://data.cefas.co.uk These sample data are from sediment cores collected in the North Sea and the Celtic Seas on three surveys undertaken between 2023 and 2024 using a NIOZ (Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research design) Box Corer conducted by the Research Vessel (RV) Cefas Endeavour. Sub cores were analysed for and data present for Microplastics. Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft Laboratory (CEFAS) Cefas Lowestoft Laboratory Pakefield Road Lowestoft Suffolk NR33 0HT UK data.manager@cefas.co.uk originator Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft Laboratory (CEFAS) Cefas Lowestoft Laboratory Pakefield Road Lowestoft Suffolk NR33 0HT UK data.manager@cefas.co.uk custodian Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft Laboratory (CEFAS) Cefas Lowestoft Laboratory Pakefield Road Lowestoft Suffolk NR33 0HT UK data.manager@cefas.co.uk distributor Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) defra.helpline@defra.gov.uk owner notPlanned Ecosystem Sea bed Sediment Analysis GEMET, version 1.0 2008-06-01 publication Micro-litter in sediments SeaDataNet P02 parameter discovery vocabulary 2011-03-25 revision Habitats and biotopes GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0 2008-06-01 publication Unknown Sediment SeaVoX Vertical Co-ordinate Coverages 2010-05-18 revision Marine Environmental Data and Information Network MEDIN metadata record availability 2012-01-11 publication data.gov.uk MEDIN metadata record availability 2012-01-11 publication otherRestrictions noLimitations otherRestrictions These data are currently pending release and may be made available on request to Cefas at present. Once published, the data will be licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 ( `https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/`_ ) – Please note the applicable attribution statement is as follows: ‘includes Crown copyright, Cefas 2025' .. _`https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/`: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ English environment 1.73881 1.74086 52.4581 52.4595 2023-05-20 2024-06-09 Unknown https://data.cefas.co.uk/view/22311 Cefas Data Portal information The Cefas Data Portal contains metadata records and data sets available to download and connect to in support of our commitment to open science. dataset INSPIRE Data Specification on Habitats and Biotopes – Technical Guidelines 2013-12-10 publication false See the referenced specification Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services 2010-12-08 publication true See the referenced specification These data are from the following areas and surveys. - CEND072023 – North Sea (Farnes Deep, Fulmar, & Dogger Bank) – May 20- th- to June 10- th- , 2023. - CEND172023 – Celtic Sea – November 9- th- to November 28- th- , 2023. - CEND092024 – North Sea (Farnes Deep, Fulmar, & Dogger Bank) - May 24- th- to June 9- th- , 2024. At each station within a survey a NIOZ Box Corer was deployed collecting core up to a maximum sediment depth of 30cm, a metal cylinder was used to take 10cm diameter sub core which were sliced at 5cm intervals. Samples were stored frozen at approximately -20 Deg C in RO rinsed glass jars covered with rinsed aluminum foil before placing the plastic cap. Each slice (~60 to 80 g d.w.) from CEND072023 was placed in a previously cleaned sediment-microplastic separation (SMI) unit as detailed in Coppock et al. (2017). Microplastics were extracted using density separation using zinc chloride (d: 1.5 g/mL). The samples were analysed using the Nile Red (NR) technique coupled with a semi-automated counting tool as detailed in Bakir et al. (2023). Slices from CEND172023 and CEND092024 were dried at 40°C for three days in a drying cabinet. 10 g of dried sediment was transferred into centrifuge tubes and digested using hydrogen peroxide. Microplastics were extracted using density separation using zinc chloride (d: 1.5 g/mL) and filtration onto Alumino-silicate (Anodisc) filters (25 mm diameter, pore size of 0.2 μm) and filters analysed for particle analysis using a Bruker LUMOS II micro-FTIR-FPA chemical imaging system as detailed in Bakir et al. (2023); Bakir and van Loon, (2024) and van Loon et al., (2024). A data point can potentially have multiple Quality Flags (QFlags) which will be semicolon separated. Definition of each QFlag can be found in the QFlag text file attached to this record. This dataset was produced by work supported jointly by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) lead NC40 Offshore Marine Monitoring project funded by Department of Environment, Food, & Rural Affairs (Defra) under its flagship marine Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (mNCEA) programme and by the Defra funded Carbon Management Project (project number MRD333). Find out more about mNCEA at `https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-capital-and-ecosystem-assessment-programme`_ . : Bakir, A., Doran, D., Silburn, B., Russell, J., Archer-Rand, S., Barry, J., Maes, T., Limpenny, C., Mason, C., Barber, J. and Nicolaus, E.M., 2023. A spatial and temporal assessment of microplastics in seafloor sediments: A case study for the UK. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, p.1093815. Bakir, A., van Loon, W.M.G.M., 2024. Analysis of microplastics in Dutch marine sediments : method development and data 2023. Coppock, R.L., Cole, M., Lindeque, P.K., Queirós, A.M. and Galloway, T.S., 2017. A small-scale, portable method for extracting microplastics from marine sediments. *Environmental Pollution* , *230*, pp.829-837.Kukkola, A.T., Senior, G., Maes, T., Silburn, B., Bakir, A., Kröger, S., Mayes, A.G., 2022. A large-scale study of microplastic abundance in sediment cores from the UK continental shelf and slope. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 178, 113554. `https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113554`_ Kukkola, A.T., Senior, G., Maes, T., Silburn, B., Bakir, A., Kröger, S., Mayes, A.G., 2022. A large-scale study of microplastic abundance in sediment cores from the UK continental shelf and slope. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 178, 113554. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113554 OSPAR MPEG, 2024. CEMP Guidelines for the monitoring of microlitter (including microplastics) in seafloor sediments for the OSPAR maritime area OSPAR Agreement 2024-06. van Loon, W., Lusher, A., Pakhomova, S., Bakir, A., 2024. Selective Identification and Quality Control of Microplastics: an Optimization Study. .. _`https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-capital-and-ecosystem-assessment-programme`: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-capital-and-ecosystem-assessment-programme .. _`https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113554`: https://doi.org/https:/doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113554 MEDIN 3.1.1