10.18453/rosdok_id00000266 Lorenz, Claudia Claudia Lorenz Universität Rostock 2014 570 Life science 2014 en http://purl.uni-rostock.de/rosdok/id00000266 urn:nbn:de:gbv:28-thesis2015-0003-6 Applying a newly developed method consisting of an extraction using the Munich Plastic Sediment Separator (MPSS), sample purification through enzymatic digestion and spectroscopic analysis via micro Fourier transform infrared imaging (µFT-IR) five North Sea sediment samples (two beaches, Sylt and three sublittoral, German Bight) were investigated for their microplastic load. The encountered abundance of microplastics < 500 µm ranged from 34 to 74 particles kg^-1 dry weight sediment. Furthermore, eleven different types of plastic polymers could be identified, with PP, PE and PS being prevalent.