Marine_Scotland_FishDAC_12324 eng dataset Scottish Government (Marine Scotland) +44 (0)300 244 4000 marinescotland@gov.scot pointOfContact 2026-08-24 MEDIN Discovery Metadata Version 2.3.7 urn:ogc:def:crs:EPSG::4326 OGP Dataset for ROAME ST014 Sources, sinks and hazards of micro-plastics in Scotland’s seas 2020-07-09 publication Marine_Scotland_FishDAC_12324 Dataset for ROAME ST014 - contains positional data and items per km squared sea surface and per cubic metre of seawater. Also contains raw counts of microplastics per sample. Will be updated annually Scottish Government (Marine Scotland) +44 (0)300 244 4000 Mailpoint 11, Area 1B South, Victoria Quay Edinburgh EH6 6QQ United Kingdom marinescotland@gov.scot pointOfContact Scottish Government (Marine Scotland) +44 (0)300 244 4000 Mailpoint 11, Area 1B South, Victoria Quay Edinburgh EH6 6QQ United Kingdom marinescotland@gov.scot custodian Scottish Government (Marine Scotland) +44 (0)300 244 4000 Mailpoint 11, Area 1B South, Victoria Quay Edinburgh EH6 6QQ United Kingdom marinescotland@gov.scot distributor Marine Scotland +44 (0)300 244 4000 1B South, Victoria Quay Edinburgh EH6 6QQ United Kingdom marinescotland@gov.scot originator Not Planned Marine Environmental Data and Information Network Micro-litter in water bodies SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary 2018-12-12 revision Properties and quantities of marine litter do not cause harm Marine Strategy Framework Directive descriptors 2017-02-25 revision The following attribution statement must be used: Contains information from the Scottish Government (Marine Scotland) licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. otherRestrictions no limitations to public access 200.00 eng environment -14.91943 1.955566 54.47004 61.50174 SeaDataNet vertical extent keywords 2010-01-01 revision The strongly illuminated upper half of the epipelagic zone. Typically from the surface down to a depth of approximately 100 metres. 2013-04-01 2020-01-31 https://dx.doi.org/10.7489/12324-1 DOI:https://dx.doi.org/10.7489/12324-1 https://dx.doi.org/10.7489/12324-2 DOI:https://dx.doi.org/10.7489/12324-2 https://dx.doi.org/10.7489/12324-3 DOI:https://dx.doi.org/10.7489/12324-3 https://doi.org/10.7489/12324-1 download dataset Samples were collected using Marine Scotland Science protocols and SOPs. Sea surface water samples were collected with a 335 µm neuston net mounted on a catamaran swimmer body (Neuston Net acc. to David/Hempel Model 300) from January 2014 up to and including January 2020 using Marine Scotland Sciences’ research vessels MRVs Scotia and Alba na Mara and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency vessel the RV Sir John Murray. The primary purpose of these surveys is to collect water, sediment and fish samples for nutrient, chemical and biological effects monitoring. Piggybacking microplastic sampling on surveys with a different sampling purpose is the usual scenario, due to the expense of a dedicated survey and helps maximise the use of ship time. Towing times varied from 15 minutes to over 1 hour, depending on the available time and/or sea surface conditions. The average speed of the ship during towing was 5 knots (2.6 ms-1). Once towing was completed the net was rinsed into the cod end and the material in the cod end transferred to a sieve stack consisting of 5 mm and 125 µm aperture sieves and a base pan. The material was rinsed through the 5 mm sieve using fresh water. The material collected in the 125 µm sieve was examined and the microplastic particles collected and counted. Particular care was taken to check for microplastics adhering to larger material such as seaweed. The examination and picking of microplastics was carried out by two people, using a lighted magnifier, as a cross check that everything identified as plastic was collected. Potential microplastics were counted in categories – fibres, film, beads, nurdles, fragments, polystyrene and paint flakes. Although not included in this assessment material greater than 5 mm in its longest dimension was also collected and counted in the same categories. Post survey, a selection of microparticles were analysed by microscopy Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (microFTIR) to confirm that they were microplastics. Potential hotspots for microplastics were identified in the surveys.