Summary:

Research on microplastic pollution (small particles of plastic <5 mm in
size) has long focused on their largest sink: the ocean. More recently,
however, researchers have expanded their focus to include freshwater and
terrestrial environments. This is a welcome development, given that an
estimated 80% of microplastic pollution in the ocean comes from land (1)
and that rivers are one of the dominant pathways for microplastics to
reach the oceans (2). Like other persistent pollutants, such as
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), microplastics are now recognized as
being distributed across the globe. Detailed understanding of the fate
and impacts of this ubiquitous environmental contaminant will thus
require a concerted effort among scientists with expertise beyond the
marine sciences.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6384/28.full.pdf

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1wZ_Qy4ZqLwDh4m5i4u_sLij4G-toL-jB
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6384/28

The post Microplastics research—from sink to source appeared first on One Earth - One Ocean e. V..

Microplastic pollution in the surface waters of Italian Subalpine Lakes,

Environmental Pollution, Volume 236, May 2018, Pages 645-651, ISSN 0269-7491,

Abstract:
Plastic debris incidence in marine environment was already highlighted
in the early 1970s. Over the last decade, microplastic pollution in the
environment has received increasing attention and is now an emerging
research area. Many studies have focused on quantifying microplastic
abundance in the marine environment, while there are relatively few data
on microplastic occurrence in freshwater environment.

Recent studies have reported high concentrations of microplastics in lakes and rivers,
although the understanding of several factors influencing source,
transport and fate is still limited.

This study compares different lakes and the common factors, which could influence the
occurrence and distribution of microplastics. The three subalpine lakes monitored
include Lake Maggiore, Iseo and Garda. The selected sampling transects
reflect the hydrologic conditions, the morphometric characteristics of
these lakes, and other factors influencing the release of plastics
debris in lakes.
Particles of microplastics (<5 mm) were found in all
sampled surfaces. The particles collected were classified depending on
their number, shape and composition. The shape distribution showed the
dominating occurrence of fragments (73.7%). The chemical composition of
all examined samples clearly shows dominating presence of polyethylene
(45%), polystyrene (18%) and polypropylene (15%). The results provide
significant relations among the different contribution of direct and diffuse sources
to the quantity of microplastics, highlighting the importance of understanding the
spatial distribution dynamics of microplastics within a lake system that acts as a
sink and source of plastic particles.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=17EhMd98X_sc0TFyMcKfVPF2qI0GMoAJM

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.02.008.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749117345074)

The post Microplastic pollution in the surface waters of Italian Subalpine Lakes appeared first on One Earth - One Ocean e. V..

Microplastic pollution in the surface waters of Italian Subalpine Lakes,

Environmental Pollution, Volume 236, May 2018, Pages 645-651, ISSN 0269-7491,

Abstract:

Plastic debris incidence in marine environment was already highlighted in the early 1970s. Over the last decade, microplastic pollution in the environment has received increasing attention and is now an emerging
research area.
Many studies have focused on quantifying microplastic abundance in the marine environment, while there are relatively few data on microplastic occurrence in freshwater environment. Recent studies have reported high concentrations of microplastics in lakes and rivers, although the understanding of several factors influencing source,
transport and fate is still limited.
This study compares different lakes and the common factors, which could influence the occurrence and distribution of microplastics. The three subalpine lakes monitored include Lake Maggiore, Iseo and Garda. The selected sampling transects reflect the hydrologic conditions, the morphometric characteristics of these lakes, and other factors influencing the release of plastics debris in lakes.
Particles of microplastics (<5 mm) were found in all sampled surfaces. The particles collected were classified depending on their number, shape and composition. The shape distribution showed the dominating occurrence of fragments (73.7%). The chemical composition of all examined samples clearly shows dominating presence of polyethylene (45%), polystyrene (18%) and polypropylene (15%). The results provide significant relations among the different contribution of direct and diffuse sources to the quantity of microplastics, highlighting the importance of understanding the spatial distribution dynamics of microplastics within a lake system that acts as a sink and source of plastic particles.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=17EhMd98X_sc0TFyMcKfVPF2qI0GMoAJM
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.02.008.(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749117345074)

The post Microplastic pollution in the surface waters of Italian Subalpine Lakes appeared first on One Earth - One Ocean e. V..

Decay of low-density polyethylene by bacteria extracted from earthworm’s guts: A potential for soil restoration,

Science of The Total Environment,
Volume 624,
2018,
Pages 753-757,
ISSN 0048-9697,

Abstract:

Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is the most abundant source of microplastic pollution worldwide. A recent study found that LDPE decay was increased and the size of the plastic was decreased after passing through the gut of the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris (Oligochaeta).
Here, we investigated the involvement of earthworm gut bacteria in the microplastic decay. The bacteria isolated from the earthworm’s gut were Gram-positive, belonging to phylum Actinobacteria and Firmicutes. These
bacteria were used in a short-term microcosm experiment performed with gamma-sterilized soil with or without LDPE microplastics (MP). We observed that the LDPE-MP particle size was significantly reduced in the
presence of bacteria. In addition, the volatile profiles of the treatments were compared and clear differences were detected. Several volatile compounds such as octadecane, eicosane, docosane and tricosane were measured only in the treatments containing both bacteria and LDPE-MP, indicating that these long-chain alkanes are byproducts of
bacterial LDPE-MP decay.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969717335702/pdfft?md5=38a5e974bb9188385004b310981b0843&pid=1-s2.0-S0048969717335702-main.pdf
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_sDWKUFfOd1Us8PSry1QNMO8gFYQLqcs
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.144.(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969717335702)

The post Decay of low-density polyethylene by bacteria extracted from earthworm’s guts: A potential for soil restoration appeared first on One Earth - One Ocean e. V..