[M-IS30] Ocean Plastics, an earth science perspective

[MIS30-12] Understanding the actual condition of microplastic pollution by using agglutinated foraminifera

*Masashi Tsuchiya¹, Hidetaka Nomaki², Akihiro Tame³ (1.Research Institute for Global Change, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 2.Institute for Extra-cutting-edge Science and Technology Avant-garde Research, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 3.Marine Works Japan Ltd.)

Keywords:Microplastic, agglutinated foraminifera, microfossil indicator, anthropocene

The problems of plastic wastes and microplastics (<5 mm) are now becoming the focus of attention. We propose the analysis of the spatiotemporal distribution of MP using agglutinated foraminifera as one of the methods to understand actual condition of microplastic pollution in the “Anthropocene”. Agglutinated foraminifera retrieve sand grains selectively or randomly to construct their shell. At that time, microplastics may also be captured. To understand the actual conditions of plastic pollution, it can be elucidated temporally and spatially by using fossil samples of agglutinated foraminifera without contamination of microplastic from ambient laboratory environment.