Surface Litter

María Belén Alfonso is an Associate Professor specializing in plastic pollution, with a focus on microplastics in freshwater and marine systems. She leads the Field-Driven Research Unit at the Center for Ocean Plastic Studies, Kyushu University, and serves as a member of the AOMI Secretariat. She has led and contributed to international research initiatives advancing harmonized methodologies and large-scale monitoring of microplastics. Her work integrates environmental chemistry and ecology to elucidate the sources, distribution, and ecological impacts of plastic pollution, including pioneering studies on microplastic ingestion by plankton and its implications for trophic transfer. She is actively engaged in capacity building and science–policy processes, contributing to global efforts to improve data comparability and inform evidence-based policy on plastic pollution.