IMAS Metadata Catalogue
Microplastics
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A review of peer-reviewed publications was undertaken, focusing on coastal and marine microplastics relevant to South Eastern Australia (South Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales), as well as from ongoing citizen science programmes from AUSMAP (https://www.ausmap.org/). This dataset summarises basic information about the microplastics studies: the location of the study; if the study focused on water, sediment or biota; the type of biota (for biotic studies); and the DOI of the publication. Although the primary focus of this study was restricted to southeastern Australia, studies collated from other regions have also been included in this dataset. The outcomes of the literature review for other regions (QLD, NT, SA, WA, Tas) should not be considered comprehensive.
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This project determined the ecological effect of coastal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) outfalls in two different coastal settings. Treated effluent, seawater, and marine sediments were collected from two WWTP outfalls located in South Australia (Glenelg & St Kilda). This is a shallow and retentive receiving environment and may accumulate effluent contaminants. Additionally, sediments were collected from another WWTP outfall in New South Wales (Malabar). This deep-water outfall discharges into a highly dispersive environment and offers a point of comparison for contaminant retention with the outfalls located in South Australia. Work focused on five contaminants that water quality managers had identified in previous NESP MaC work (Project 1.16) as being highly important: nutrients and metals (traditional effluent pollutants); and antibiotics, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and microplastics (contaminants of emerging concern). This record describes the results from the sediment sampling component of this study. Results from the effluent and seawater sampling are described separately by the record 'Effluent and seawater sampling data from wastewater treatment plant outfalls' (https://metadata.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/00c3e9a2-5d2f-44de-9c30-00f4af385b6a). Data is currently under embargo, to be released in January 2026.
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This project determined the ecological effect of coastal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) outfalls in two different coastal settings. Treated effluent, seawater, and marine sediments were collected from two WWTP outfalls located in South Australia (Glenelg & St Kilda). This is a shallow and retentive receiving environment and may accumulate effluent contaminants. Additionally, sediments were collected from another WWTP outfall in New South Wales (Malabar). This deep-water outfall discharges into a highly dispersive environment and offers a point of comparison for contaminant retention with the outfalls located in South Australia. Work focused on five contaminants that water quality managers had identified in previous NESP MaC work (Project 1.16) as being highly important: nutrients and metals (traditional effluent pollutants); and antibiotics, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and microplastics (contaminants of emerging concern). This record describes the results from the wastewater (effluent) and sea water sampling component of this study. Results from the sediment sampling are described separately by the record 'Sediment sampling data from wastewater treatment plant outfalls' (https://metadata.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/7130f946-c629-416e-99be-66ab53e885d7). Data is currently under embargo, to be released in January 2026.
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We performed a 5-week experiment in controlled laboratory settings to investigate the effects of different types of microparticles (i.e., PVC/red clay) on the performance of the Mediterranean mussel. Several response variables including respiration rate, byssus production, body condition index and survival were collected. Our study's main purpose is to examine effects of synthetic microparticles on bivalves using a more relevant methodological approach, i.e., in comparison to naturally-occurring particles, since these filter-feeders are exposed to not just microplastics in the real-world environment, but also to various naturally suspended seston particles, such as detritus and sediments.
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Five subsections of Antarctic ice cores were used to create a new methodology for analyzing microplastics in sea ice.
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This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub project "Advancing national standards and best practices to monitor key marine values and pressures". No data outputs were generated by this project. -------------------- Standardised approaches to marine monitoring are critical for ensuring data consistency, transparency, and comparability across time, regions, and sectors. The development and application of national standards and best practices provide the foundation for monitoring the condition of Australia’s marine estate. As pressures on the marine environment increase, so too does the need for robust, inclusive, and nationally consistent monitoring practices. This project advanced the development and implementation of national best-practice standards to monitor the condition of priority values and pressures across Australia's marine estate. It built on previous work conducted by the NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub through the release of Version 3 of the Field Manuals for Marine Sampling to Monitor Australian Waters. This version introduced three new manuals for: (1) sampling microplastics in marine and coastal environments; (2) conducting knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) surveys with recreational marine users; and (3) use of the Benthic Observation Survey System (BOSS), a novel multi-camera drop platform for benthic imagery. Indigenous partners contributed to the development of the KAP and BOSS manuals, laying the foundation for future Indigenous-led monitoring initiatives. The project identified key barriers to adoption of the field manuals and developed a set of recommendations, included nominating the manuals for international endorsement, establishing governance mechanisms, securing long-term funding, and identifying priorities for future SOP development, such as offshore renewable energy monitoring. All materials were aligned with the Ocean Best Practices System to facilitate national and international uptake. A practical implementation plan was developed to guide the future development and maintenance of national standards; promote their broader adoption; and assess their effectiveness and impact in delivering priority monitoring activities. Outputs • Workshop and questionnaire report gauging the needs of scientists, Indigenous communities, and marine managers [written] • Scientific publication on marine best practice development [written] • New national standards for (1) drop cameras; (2) socioeconomic surveys; and (3) microplastics studies [written] • Implementation plan (final report) [written]
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Investigations of the impact of sewage and heavy metal inputs on inshore rocky reef communities have been limited to date because the scale of information on levels of pollutants has been much broader than the span of transects at sites investigated. As a consequence, analyses have been confounded by poor information on the variety of stressors operating at any site. Finer resolution data on pollutants are needed. To address this deficiency, the influence of sewage, heavy metals and other pollutants were assessed by collecting sediment samples at Reef Life Survey ecological monitoring sites and measuring a range of associated markers. This includes basic biogeochemical information (pH, turbidity, total phosphate, TKN, total organic carbon), stable isotopes (delta15N, delta13C), heavy metal concentrations, hydrocarbon concentrations.