Publications

1. Andoy, C. J. M., Ochigue, P. C. D., Romarate, R. A., Rodil, M. S. P., Nakano, H., & Bacosa, H. P. (2025). Spatial and vertical distribution of microplastics in mangrove sediment in the southern Philippines. Marine Environmental Research, 209, 107223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2025.107223 

2. Ellos, D.M.C.; Chien, M.-F.; Inoue, C.; Nakano, H.; Isobe, A.; Onda, D.F.L.; Watanabe, K.; Bacosa, H.P. Mesoplastics: A Review of Contamination Status, Analytical Methods, Pollution Sources, Potential Risks, and Future Perspectives of an Emerging Global Environmental Pollutant. Toxics 2025, 13, 227. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13030227

3. Klangnurak, W., Prachumwong, S., Alfonso, M.B. et al. (2025) Occurrence of microplastics in Russell’s snapper (Lutjanus russellii) and associated prey species in the Central Gulf of Thailand. Environ Sci Pollut Res https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-025-36068-1 

4. Celik, M., Zijiang, Y., Xu, H., Nakano, H., Isobe, A., & Arakawa, H. (2025). Carbonyl index of miniaturized microplastics at the sea surface. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 211, 117376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.117376

5. Nakano H., Alfonso M. B., Phinchan N., Jandang S., Manap M. A., Chavanich S., Viyakarn V., Müller M., Wong C., Bacosa H. P., Celik M., Cordova M. R., & Isobe A. (2025). Aquatic microplastics research in the ASEAN region: Analysis of challenges and priorities. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 210, 117342. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.117342

6. Takeda, H., & Isobe, A. (2024). Quantification of ocean microplastic fragmentation processes in the Sea of Japan using a combination of field observations and numerical particle tracking model experiments. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 208, 117032. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.117032 

7. Jandang, S., Alfonso, M. B., Nakano, H., Phinchan, N., Darumas, U., Viyakarn, V., Chavanich, S., & Isobe, A. (2024). Possible sink of missing ocean plastic: Accumulation patterns in reef-building corals in the Gulf of Thailand. Science of The Total Environment, 954, 176210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176210

8. Higuchi, C., & Isobe, A. (2024). Reduction scenarios of plastic waste emission guided by the probability distribution model to avoid additional ocean plastic pollution by 2050s. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 207, 116791. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116791 

9. Tanoiri, H., Nakano, H., Arakawa, H., & Yokota, M. (2024). Assessment of microplastic occurrence in tidal flat biota of the Tsurumi River estuary (Tokyo Bay, Japan): Preliminary study and first evidence. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 103661. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2024.103661

10. Kako, S., Muroya, R., Matsuoka, D., & Isobe, A. (2024). Quantification of litter in cities using a smartphone application and citizen science in conjunction with deep learning-based image processing. Waste Management, 186, 271-279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2024.06.026 

11. Alfonso, M. B., Nakano, H., Jandang, S., Tanaka, M., Viyakarn, V., Chavanich, S., & Isobe, A. (2024). Small microplastic ingestion by the calanoid Centropages furcatus in the Gulf of Thailand. Science of The Total Environment, 930, 172837. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172837

12. Yang, Z., Zhang, J., NAKANO H., Murat, C., & Arakawa, H. (2024). Spectral analysis of environmental microplastic polyethylene (PE) using average spectra. Science of The Total Environment, 927, 171871. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171871 

13. Kuroda, M., Isobe, A., Uchida, K., Tokai, T., Kitakado, T., Yoshitake, M., Miyamoto, Y., Mukai, T., Imai, K., Shimizu, K., Yagi, M., Mituhasi, T., & Habano, A. (2024). Abundance and potential sources of floating polystyrene foam macro- and microplastics around Japan. Science of The Total Environment, 925, 171421. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171421 

14. Nakano H., Alfonso M.B, Jandang S., Phinchan N., Chavanich S., Viyakarn V., and Isobe A. (2024)  Influence of Monsoon Seasonality and Tidal Cycle on Microplastics Presence and Distribution in the Upper Gulf of Thailand. Sci. Total Environ., 170787. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170787   

15. Jandang, S., Viyakarn, V., Yoshioka, Y., Shinzato, C., & Chavanich, S. (2024). Ontogenetic shifts in Symbiodiniaceae assemblages within cultured Acropora humilis across hatchery rearing and post-transplantation phases. Frontiers in Marine Science, 11, 1138021. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1138021 

16. Irfan, T.**, A. Isobe, and H. Matsuura “A particle tracking model approach to determine the dispersal of riverine plastic debris released into the Indian Ocean”, Marine Pollution Bulletin, 199, 115985, 2024.

17. An, Y., T. Kajiwara, A. Padermshoke, T. V. Nguyen, S. Feng, H. Masunaga, Y. Kobayashi, H. Ito, S. Sasaki, A. Isobe, A. Takahara “Photooxidative degradation and fragmentation behavior of oriented  isotactic polypropylene”, Polymer Journal, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-023-00876-4, 2024.

18. Umberto, A, T. Konstantinos, van Emmerik. T. H. M., Papakonstantinou, A., Monteiro, J. G., A. Isobe, Hidaka, M., Kako, S., Kataoka, T., Gonçalves, G. “Drones for litter monitoring on coasts and rivers: suitable flight altitude and image resolution”,  Marine Pollution Bulletin, 195, 115521, 2023.

19. Yona, D., F. O. Setyawan, S. E. N. Putri, F. Iranawati, M. A. Kautsar, and  A. Isobe “Microplastic Distribution in Beach Sediments: Comparison Between the North and South Waters of East Java Island, Indonesia” Jurnal Ilmiah Perikanan dan Kelautan, 15, 303–315, 2023.

20. Yuan, D., C. Corvianawatie, M. R. Cordva, D. Surinati,  Y. Li, Z. Wang, X. Li, R. Li, J. Wang, L. Lei, A. N. Yuan, D. Dirhamsyah, Z. Arfin, X. Sun,  A. Isobe  “Microplastics in the tropical Northwestern Pacific Ocean and the Indonesian seas” Journal of Sea Research, 194, 102406, 2023. 

21. Yohitake, M.**, A. Isobe, Y. K. Song, W. J. Shim “A numerical model approach toward a settling process and feedback loop of ocean microplastics absorbed into phytoplankton aggregates” Journal of Geophysical Research -Oceans, 128, e2022JC018961, 2023.

22. Nakano, H., Alfonso, M. B., Jandang, S., Imai, K., & Arakawa, H. (2023). Microplastic pollution indexes in the coastal and open ocean areas around Japan. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 103287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2023.103287 

23. Yang, Z., Murat, Ç., Nakano, H., & Arakawa, H. (2023). Accessing the intrinsic factors of carbonyl index of microplastics: Physical and spectral properties, baseline correction, calculation methods, and their interdependence. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 197, 115700. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115700

24. Alfonso, M. B., Lindsay, D. J., Arias, A. H., Nakano, H., Jandang, S., & Isobe, A. (2023). Zooplankton as a suitable tool for microplastic research. Science of The Total Environment, 167329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167329 

25. Tanoiri, H., Barrientos, E. E., Nakano, H., Arakawa, H., & Yokota, M. (2023). The pretreatment method in marine organisms and sediment for microplastics analysis by FTIR using “Cylindrical microplastics fractionator”. MethodsX, 11, 102396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2023.102396 

26. Arafat, Tanoiri, Yokota, Nakano, Arakawa, Terahara, and Kobayashi (2023) Microplastics pollution in the gastrointestinal tract of giant river-catfish Sperata seenghala (Sykes, 1839) from the Meghna River, Bangladesh.　Environ Sci Pollut Res. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28750-z　

27. Nava, Chandra,  Aherne,  Alfonso et al. (2023). Plastic debris in lakes and reservoirs. Nature, 619(7969), 317-322. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06168-4 

28. Tun, Htwe, Than, Khine, Chavanich, Viyakarn, Isobe., & Nakata (2023). Polymer types and additive concentrations in single-use plastic products collected from Indonesia, Japan, Myanmar, and Thailand. Science of The Total Environment, 889, 163983. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163983 

29. Cheng, Zhang, Nakano, Ueyama and Arakawa (2023). Coumarin 6 staining method to detect microplastics. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 193, 115167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115167

30. Okubo, Yamamoto, Kurima, Sakabe, Ide, & Isobe. (2023). Estimation of the age of polyethylene microplastics collected from oceans: Application to the western North Pacific Ocean. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 192, 114951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114951

31. Arakawa, Nakano, and Uchida (2023) Plastics contamination in the coastal areas around Japan: A review. La mer, No. 1-2, Vol. 61. (in press)

32. Mofokeng, Faltynkova, Alfonso et al. (2023)  The future of ocean plastics: designing diverse collaboration frameworks, ICES Journal of Marine Science, fsad055, https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsad055 

33. Celik, Nakano, Uchida, Isobe, & Arakawa (2023). Comparative evaluation of the carbonyl index of microplastics around the Japan coast. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 190, 114818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114818

34. Yona, D., M. R. Evitantri, D. S. Wardana, D. A. Pitaloka, D. Ningrum, M. A. Z. Fuad, Y. P. Prananto, L. I. Harlyan, A. Isobe  "Microplastics in Organs of Commercial Marine Fishes from Five Fishing Ports in Java Island, Indonesia"  Indonesian Journal of Marine Sciences , 27, 199-214, 2022. 

35. Nakano, Aikawa, Hagita et al. (2023) Hydrographic structures of Tokyo Bay between 1992 and 2019 and evidence of temperature increase; observational results by the training vessel Seiyo-Maru. J Oceanogr. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-023-00683-8 

36. Richardson, Holgerson, Farragher, Hoffman, King, Alfonso et al. (2022) A functional definition to distinguish ponds from lakes and wetlands. Sci Rep 12, 10472. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-14569-0 

37. Xu, Nakano, Tokai, Miyazaki, Hamada and Arakawa (2022). Contamination of sea surface water offshore the Tokai region and Tokyo Bay in Japan by small microplastics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114245 

38. Isobe and Iwasaki (2022). The fate of missing ocean plastics: Are they just a marine environmental problem? Science of the Total Environment https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153935

==== center established ====

39. Nakano and Arakawa (2022). Oceanic microplastics in Japan: A brief review on research protocol and present pollution. Regional Studies in Marine Science https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2022.102201

40. Alfonso et al., (2021a). Microplastics on plankton samples: Multiple digestion techniques assessment based on weight, size, and FTIR spectroscopy analyses. Marine Pollution Bulletin https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.11302

41. Alfonso et al., (2021b). Assessing threats, regulations, and strategies to abate plastic pollution in LAC beaches during COVID-19 pandemic. Ocean and Coastal Management https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2021.105613 

42. Alfonso et al., (2021c). Continental microplastics: Presence, features, and environmental transport pathways.Science of the Total Environment https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149447 

43. Arias, Alfonso, Girones, Piccolo, Marcovecchio. (2021). Synthetic microfibers and tyre wear particles pollution in aquatic systems: Relevance and mitigation strategies. Environmental Pollution. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118607

44. Isobe et al., (2021). A multilevel dataset of microplastic abundance in the world’s upper ocean and the Laurentian Great Lakes. Microplastics and Nanoplastics https://doi.org/10.1186/s43591-021-00013-z

45. Morales-Caselles, Viejo, Martí, González, Pragnell-Raasch, González-Gordillo, Montero, Arroyo, Hanke, Salvo,  Basurko, Mallos, Lebreton, Echevarría, van Emmerik, Duarte, Gálvez, van Sebille, Galgani, García,  Ross, Bartual, Ioakeimidis, Markalain, Isobe, Cózar (2021) An inshore-offshore sorting system revealed from global classification of ocean litter, Nature Sustainability, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00720-8

46. Nakano et al., (2021b) Reevaluation of microplastics identification based on the neuston nets survey data. Marine Pollution Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112799

47. Nakano et al., (2021a). Microplastics on the sea surface of the semi-closed Tokyo Bay. Marine Pollution Bulletin https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111887

48. Refat, Nahiab, Alfonso, Khandaker, Enyoh, Hamid, Alsubaie, Almalki, Bradley, Mohafez, Islam. (2021). Microplastics pollution in salt pans from the Maheshkhali Channel, Bangladesh. Scientific reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-02457-y

49. Tanoiri, Nakano, Arakawa, Hattori, and Yokota (2021) Inclusion of shape parameters increase the accuracy of 3D models for microplastics mass quantification. Marine Pollution Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112749.

50. Wang, Nakano, Xu, and Arakawa (2021) Small microplastics contamination in seabed sediments on Tokyo Bay. Estuarine and Coastal Shelf Science https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2021.107552.

51. Van Sebille, Aliani, Lavender Law, Maximenko, Alsina, Bagaev, Bergmann, Chapron, Chubarenko, Cózar, Delandmeter, Egger, Fox-Kemper, Garaba, Goddijn-Murphy, Hardesty, Hoffman, Isobe, Jongedijk, Kaandorp, Khatmullina, Koelmans, Kukulka, Laufkötter, Lebreton, Lobelle, Maes, Martinez-Vicente, Morales Maqueda, Poulain-Zarcos, Rodríguez, Ryan, Shanks, Shim, Suaria, Thiel, Van Den Bremer, Wichmann (2020) The physical oceanography of the transport of floating marine debris, Environmental Research Letters, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab6d7d

52. Isobe et al., (2019a). Abundance of non-conservative microplastics in the upper ocean from 1957 to 2066. Nature Communications https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-08316-9

53. Isobe et al., (2019b). An interlaboratory comparison exercise for the determination of microplastics in standard sample bottles. Marine Pollution Bulletin https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.07.033

54. Kako, Isobe, Kataoka, Yufu, Sugizono, Plybon, Murphy (2018) Sequential webcam monitoring and modeling of marine debris abundance. Marine Pollution Bulletin https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.04.075

55. Kataoka, Murray, Isobe (2018), Quantification of marine macro-debris abundance around Vancouver Island, Canada, based on archived aerial photographs processed by projective transformation, Marine Pollution Bulletin https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.08.060

56. Song, Hong, Eo, Jang, Han, Isobe, Shim (2018) Horizontal and Vertical Distribution of Microplastics in Korean Coastal Waters, Environmental Science & Technology, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b04032

57. Isobe et al., (2017). Microplastics in the Southern Ocean.Marine Pollution Bulletin https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.09.037

58. Iwasaki, Isobe, Kako, Uchida, Tokai (2017) Fate of microplastics and mesoplastics carried by surface currents and wind waves - A numerical model approach in the Sea of Japan, Marine Pollution Bulletin https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.05.057

59. Isobe et al., (2016). Percentage of microbeads in pelagic microplastics within Japanese coastal waters. Marine Pollution Bulletin https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.06.030

60. Isobe et al., (2015). East Asian seas: A hot spot of pelagic microplastics. Marine Pollution Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.10.042

61. Isobe et al., (2014). Selective transport of microplastics and mesoplastics by drifting in coastal waters. Marine Pollution Bulletin https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.09.041

62. Kako, Isobe, Kataoka, Hinata (2014) A decadal prediction of the quantity of plastic marine debris littered on beaches of the East Asian marginal seas, Marine Pollution Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.01.057

63. Nakashima, Isobe, Kako, Itai, Takahashi (2012) Quantification of toxic metals derived from macroplastic litter on Ookushi beach, Japan, Environmental Science & Technology. https://doi.org/10.1021/es301362g

64. Kako, Isobe, Magome, Low altitude remote-sensing method to monitor marine and beach litter of various colors using a balloon equipped with a digital camera (2012) Marine Pollution Bulletin https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.03.024

1. Center for Ocean Plastic Studies. (2024). Best Practices for Microplastic Research - Webinar. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11363671 2024.05 Webinar material

2. White paper on Microplastics in Coastal Aquaculture Systems: Development of Regulatory Frameworks, Practices and Mitigation Efforts in APEC Economies. Published by SOM Steering Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation (SCE), Ocean and Fisheries Working Group (OFWG),  June 2023, https://www.apec.org/publications/2023/06/microplastics-in-coastal-aquaculture-systems-development-of-regulatory-frameworks-practices-and-mitigation-efforts-in-apec-economies, 95 pp. (As research contributors, Dr. Jangdan & Dr. Nakano)

1. Nakano Haruka
   The Brilliant Female Researchers Award (The Jun Ashida Award) by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)

2. María Belén Alfonso  (Belen-sensei)
   Sanae-I. Itoh Awards, Young Female Researchers Award / The Outstanding Researchers Award (Kyushu University),
   “Presence and impact of microplastic pollution in marine and freshwater aquatic environments”

3. Suppakarn Jandang (Dr. May)
   The Outstanding Alumni 2024 (Prince of Songkla University)

4. Isobe Atsuhiko, Kuroda Mao et al.
   Fisheries Technology Award 2022 (The Japanese Society of Fisheries Science)

”Methodology harmonization and database arrangement for ocean plastics”