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..

Spatio-temporal comparison of neustonic microplastic density in Hong Kong waters under
the influence of the Pearl River Estuary,

Science of The Total Environment,
Volumes 628–629,
2018,
Pages 731-739,
ISSN 0048-9697,

Abstract:

Rivers are recognised as an important source of plastic debris in the open sea. The Pearl River in China is estimated to transport 0.1milliontonnes of plastic waste to the open sea annually.

However, no empirical study has been conducted to assess the plastic contamination levels in the Pearl River Estuary. Hong Kong is situated in the east of the Pearl River Estuary; its western waters are strongly influenced by
river discharge, whereas the eastern waters are unaffected by the freshwater plume. In this study, we quantified the neustonic plastic debris density in the western and eastern waters of Hong Kong.

The mean microplastic (0.355–4.749mm) and large plastic debris (≥4.75mm) densities in the western side were 3.627 and 0.758n/m3, respectively.
Seasonal comparisons indicated that both size classes of plastic debris were significantly more abundant by number in the rainy season than the dry season (p<0.001). However, the influence of rivers on plastic density at the sea surface may be highly restricted to the estuarine delta, as no significant spatial difference was found between the
western and eastern waters.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1JB2gASkYoSSJA_mzGW2_rTeJI019julo

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.01.338.(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969718303851)

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Plastic pollution in islands of the Atlantic Ocean,

Environmental Pollution, Volume 238, July 2018, Pages 103-110, ISSN 0269-7491,

Abstract:

Marine plastic pollution is present in all oceans, including remote oceanic islands. Despite the increasing number of articles on plastic pollution in the last years, there is still a lack of studies in islands, that are biodiversity hotspotswhen compared to the surrounding ocean, and even other recognized highly biodiverse marine environments.
Articles published in the peer reviewed literature (N = 20) were analysed according to the presence of macro (>5 mm) and microplastics (<5 mm) on beaches and the marine habitats immediately adjacent to 31 islands of the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
The first articles date from the 1980s, but most were published in the 2000s. Articles on macroplastics were predominant in this review (N = 12). Beaches were the most studied environment, possibly due to easy access. The main focus of most articles was the spatial distribution of plastics associated with variables such as position of the beach in relation to wind and currents. Very few studies have analysed plastics colonization by organisms or the identification of persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
Islands of the North/South Atlantic and Caribbean Sea were influenced by different sources of macroplastics, being marine-based sources (i.e., fishing activities) predominant in the Atlantic Ocean basin. On the other hand, in the Caribbean Sea, land-based sources were more common.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=15ZP_pZB57q3QUOMfV2TwHJ4ztcctJ83I
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.01.096.(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749117334310)

The post Plastic pollution in islands of the Atlantic Ocean appeared first on One Earth - One Ocean e. V..

Environmental Pollution, Volume 235, 2018, Pages 899-906, ISSN 0269-7491,

Abstract:

Microplastic pollution was studied in China’s largest inland
lake – Qinghai Lake in this work. Microplastics were detected with
abundance varies from 0.05 × 105 to 7.58 × 105 items km−2 in the lake
surface water, 0.03 × 105 to 0.31 × 105 items km−2 in the inflowing
rivers, 50 to 1292 items m−2 in the lakeshore sediment, and 2 to 15
items per individual in the fish samples, respectively. Small
microplastics (0.1–0.5 mm) dominated in the lake surface water while
large microplastics (1–5 mm) are more abundant in the river samples.
Microplastics were predominantly in sheet and fiber shapes in the lake
and river water samples but were more diverse in the lakeshore sediment
samples. Polymer types of microplastics were mainly polyethylene (PE)
and polypropylene (PP) as identified using Raman Spectroscopy.
Spatially, microplastic abundance was the highest in the central part of
the lake, likely due to the transport of lake current. Based on the
higher abundance of microplastics near the tourist access points,
plastic wastes from tourism are considered as an important source of
microplastics in Qinghai Lake. As an important area for wildlife
conservation, better waste management practice should be implemented,
and waste disposal and recycling infrastructures should be improved for
the protection of Qinghai Lake.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1hyquhqm40i3vsIDn-8imPD5OIFX3plYd

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.12.081.(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749117345591)

The post Sources and distribution of microplastics in China’s largest inland lake – Qinghai Lake appeared first on One Earth - One Ocean e. V..

Abstract:

Microplastic pollution was studied in China’s largest inland lake – Qinghai Lake in this work.
Microplastics were detected with abundance varies from 0.05 × 105 to 7.58 × 105 items km−2 in the lake surface water,
0.03 × 105 to 0.31 × 105 items km−2 in the inflowing rivers, 50 to 1292 items m−2 in the lakeshore sediment,
and 2 to 15 items per individual in the fish samples, respectively.
Small microplastics (0.1–0.5 mm) dominated in the lake surface water while large microplastics (1–5 mm) are more abundant
in the river samples.
Microplastics were predominantly in sheet and fiber shapes in the lake and river water samples but were more diverse in the lakeshore sediment samples. Polymer types of microplastics were mainly polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) as identified using Raman Spectroscopy. Spatially, microplastic abundance was the highest in the central part of the lake, likely due to the transport of lake current. Based on the higher abundance of microplastics near the tourist access points, plastic wastes from tourism are considered as an important source of microplastics in Qinghai Lake.
As an important area for wildlife conservation, better waste management practice should be implemented, and waste disposal and recycling infrastructures should be improved for the protection of Qinghai Lake.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1hyquhqm40i3vsIDn-8imPD5OIFX3plYd
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.12.081.(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749117345591)

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Variation in plastic abundance at different lake beach zones – A case study,

Science of The Total Environment, Volumes 613–614, 1 February 2018,
Pages 530-537, ISSN 0048-9697

Abstract:

Plastic particles in marine and freshwater environments span from macroscopic to microscopic size classes. Each may have a different
impact on individuals, populations and ecosystems, but still the wide variety of methods used in beach sediment sampling inhibit comparisons among studies and therefore hampers a risk assessment. A large portion of the uncertainties is due to differing sampling strategies.

By quantifying the alongshore distribution of macro- and microplastic particles within five beaches of Lake Garda, we aim to shed light on the accumulation behavior of microplastic particles at an exemplary lake which might give indications for potential sampling zones.

The identification of plastic at the single particle level with a spatial resolution down to 1 μm was performed by Raman microspectroscopy. Given the time consuming approach we reduced the number of samples in the field but increased the spatial area where a single sample was taken, by utilizing a transect approach in combination with sediment cores (5 cmdepth).

The study revealed that, in comparison to the water line and the high-water line, the drift line of all five beaches always contained
plastic particles. Since the drift line accumulate particulate matter on a relatively distinct zone, it will enable a comparable sampling of
microplastic particles. The applied sampling approach provided a representative method for quantifying microplastic down to 1 μm on a
shore consisting of pebbles and sand. Hence, as first step towards a harmonization of beach sediment sampling we suggest to perform sampling at the drift line, although further methodological improvements are still necessary.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.08.300.

(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969717323227)

The post Variation in plastic abundance at different lake beach zones – A case study appeared first on One Earth - One Ocean e. V..

Abstract:
Plastic particles in marine and freshwater environments span from
macroscopic to microscopic size classes. Each may have a different
impact on individuals, populations and ecosystems, but still the wide
variety of methods used in beach sediment sampling inhibit comparisons
among studies and therefore hampers a risk assessment. A large portion
of the uncertainties is due to differing sampling strategies.

By quantifying the alongshore distribution of macro- and microplastic
particles within five beaches of Lake Garda, we aim to shed light on the
accumulation behavior of microplastic particles at an exemplary lake
which might give indications for potential sampling zones. The
identification of plastic at the single particle level with a spatial
resolution down to 1 μm was performed by Raman microspectroscopy. Given
the time consuming approach we reduced the number of samples in the
field but increased the spatial area where a single sample was taken, by
utilizing a transect approach in combination with sediment cores (5 cm
depth).

The study revealed that, in comparison to the water line and the
high-water line, the drift line of all five beaches always contained
plastic particles. Since the drift line accumulate particulate matter on
a relatively distinct zone, it will enable a comparable sampling of
microplastic particles. The applied sampling approach provided a
representative method for quantifying microplastic down to 1 μm on a
shore consisting of pebbles and sand. Hence, as first step towards a
harmonization of beach sediment sampling we suggest to perform sampling
at the drift line, although further methodological improvements are
still necessary.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.08.300.

(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969717323227)

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Plastic debris crossing the Pacific can transport more species with the
help of barnacles

FEBRUARY 3, 2016
MICHELLE NEELEY
PHOTOGRAPHER: MARINA GARLAND

The smooth surfaces of much of the plastic waste rapidly increasing in
the ocean appear to provide poor habitat for animals — that is, until
barnacles step in.

University of Florida researchers discovered that diverse communities of
rafting animals can inhabit even the smoothest pieces of plastic debris
if barnacles step in first to create complex habitat, similar to trees
in a rainforest or corals in a reef. That means plastics could better
transport foreign species across oceans than previously believed, said
Mike Gil, who, as a doctoral candidate at UF, led the study published
Jan. 27 in Scientific Reports.

Now the bad news: While conservationists generally aim to preserve
biological diversity, Gil said, the diversity found on plastic debris
could be harmful.

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