Belize Sediment Microplastics Abundance and FTIR Analysis, 2019

Two CSV files report microplastic abundance in sediment samples from six locations in Belize collected between May and June 2019. The data includes particle counts per 5g sediment, GPS coordinates, deployment times, and particulate size analysis. A separate file contains ATR-FT-IR spectrum analysis of a plastic particle, with accompanying images provided in a .zip file.

Use Cases

• Assess microplastic pollution levels in coastal sediments based on particle counts per 5g sediment.
• Map pollution distribution based on GPS coordinates of sample collection sites.
• Analyze sediment composition based on the particulate size analysis (PSA) data.
• Identify polymer types of plastic particles based on the ATR-FT-IR spectrum analysis.

Strengths

• Includes data from six distinct sampling locations, providing spatial context.
• Contains complementary analytical data: particle counts, GPS coordinates, PSA, and FT-IR spectra.
• Covers a specific time range: samples collected between May and June 2019.

Limitations

• Only four of the six sampled locations were analyzed for microplastics, limiting spatial completeness.
• Row count, file size, and column-level documentation are unknown, requiring manual inspection after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service

Collection Method

Sediment was collected at six locations in Belize and analyzed for microplastics and particle size.

Time Range

May-June 2019

Freshness

Data is from 2019; last update date is unknown.

Geography

Six locations in Belize