Extreme weather events, such as storms and intensive prolonged rainfall periods are becoming more frequent due to intensive anthropogenic activities globally. Through investigating the impact of these extreme weather events on both spatial and temporal scales in marine coastal ecosystems this project will be able to assess both the fluctuating levels of marine plastic debris, including MPs, in the relevant environmental matrices immediately before and after such weather events. Previous research has highlighted that estuaries are hotspots for MPs within bays and that increased rainfall associated with both seasonal fluctuations in rainfall and storms are known to transport aquatic pollutants such as plastics and MPs to remote destinations. Most studies on plastics and MPs focus on their abundance and distribution at a single timepoint, with few studies examining temporal fluctuations. Taking an ecosystem approach will establish a knowledge base on the extreme factors over time, contributing to increased MP loading in coastal habitats and help to inform cleanup efforts, particularly those targeting beaches. This increases the understanding of extreme events on the levels of pollution in coastal aquatic ecosystems which is crucial to implementing strategies such as, the Climate Action Plan 2023.
