The first official HOTMIC research cruise will be on F/S Alkor, and leaves from Malaga, Spain, on 05 March. The cruise track will follow the European coast from the Mediterranean Sea through the eastern Atlantic, Bay of Biscay, English Channel, and North Sea, to finish in the Baltic Sea at Kiel, Germany, on 01 April. The cruise will visit many of the major European river outflows to help understand their importance for microplastic inputs to the North Atlantic Ocean and North Sea. Stay tuned!