Comparison of the distribution and degradation of plastic debris along shorelines of the Great Lakes, North America

Zbyszewski, Maciej; Corcoran, Patricia L.; Hockin, Alexandra

doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2014.02.012

Cited by 410 publications

(167 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…However, whereas in Lake Huron, 93 % of plastic debris was comprised of pellets, in Lakes Erie fragments were more abundant (Zbyszewski et al 2014). In Lake Superior, cigarette filters were found to be a major source of shoreline accumulation of macroplastic debris (Hoellein et al 2014).…”

Section: Plastic Debris In Lakementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Lake Superior, cigarette filters were found to be a major source of shoreline accumulation of macroplastic debris (Hoellein et al 2014). The surface textures of plastic debris samples from Lakes Huron and Erie have been examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) 78 % and 37 % of samples showed signs of mechanical and oxidative weathering, respectively (Zbyszewski et al 2014).…”

Section: Plastic Debris In Lakementioning

confidence: 99%

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Water quality assessment of lake water: a review

Bhateria

Jain

2016

Sustain. Water Resour. Manag.

575

234

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Ever increasing population, urbanization and modernization are posing problems of sewage disposal and contamination of surface waters like lakes. Natural water gets contaminated due to weathering of rocks, leaching of soils and mining processing, etc. Various types of problems in lake which cause nutrient enrichment in lake have been reviewed. Land use change and longer growing seasons could increase the use of fertilizers with subsequent leaching to watercourses, rivers and lakes, increasing the risk of eutrophication and loss of biodiversity. Water quality can be assessed by various parameters such as BOD, temperature, electrical conductivity, nitrate, phosphorus, potassium, dissolved oxygen, etc. Heavy metals such as Pb, Cr, Fe, Hg, etc. are of special concern because they produce water or chronic poisoning in aquatic animals. Harmful algal blooms are becoming increasingly common in freshwater ecosystems globally. Pollution by plastic debris is an increasing environmental concern in water bodies, where it affects open-water, shoreline and benthic environments. Surface water densities of plastics are as high as those reported for areas of litter accumulation within oceanic gyres. Different methods have been used to analyse the water quality of lake such as Hyperion, water quality index and hazard quotient. It is recommended that pollution prevention and water re-use should be adopted in combination with the recycling of nutrients in controlled urban agriculture.

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Section: Plastic Debris In Lakementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Plastic Debris In Lakementioning

confidence: 99%

Water quality assessment of lake water: a review

Bhateria

Jain

2016

Sustain. Water Resour. Manag.

575

234

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“…Whereas many PPCPs are polar and hydrophilic, their sorption to PE can be less pronounced due to a weak interaction with the hydrophobic surface of PE particles. However, weathering can greatly alter the surface property of plastics and therefore change the sorption behavior (Holmes et al 2014;Zbyszewski et al 2014). Carbonyl groups were identified in plastic samples collected from Lake Huron beaches, indicating the oxidation of the weathered plastics (Zbyszewski and Corcoran 2011).…”

Section: Sorption Isothermsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sorption of pharmaceuticals and personal care products to polyethylene debris

Zhang

Huang

et al. 2016

Environ Sci Pollut Res

347

106

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Presence of plastic debris in marine and freshwater ecosystems is increasingly reported. Previous research suggested plastic debris had a strong affiliation for many pollutants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and heavy metals. In this study, the sorption behavior of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), including carbamazepine (CBZ), 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4MBC), triclosan (TCS), and 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE2), to polyethylene (PE) debris (250 to 280 μm) was investigated. The estimated linear sorption coefficients (K d ) are 191.4, 311.5, 5140, and 53,225 L/kg for CBZ, EE2, TCS, and 4MBC, and are related to their hydrophobicities. Increase of salinity from 0.05 to 3.5 % did not affect the sorption of 4MBC, CBZ, and EE2 but enhanced the sorption of TCS, likely due to the salting-out effect. Increase of dissolved organic matter (DOM) content using Aldrich humic acid (HA) as a proxy reduced the sorption of 4MBC, EE2, and TCS, all of which show a relatively strong affiliation to HA. Results from this work suggest that microplastics may play an important role in the fate and transport of PPCPs, especially for those hydrophobic ones.

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“…Microplastics pollution has been reported from Great Lakes surface waters (Eriksen et al, 2013), along shorelines (Zbyszewski and Corcoran, 2011;Zbyszewski et al, 2014;Corcoran et al, 2015) and in offshore lake bottom sediments , but its presence in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 Ballent, Anika Manuscript page 2 subsurface sediments of nearshore regions and tributaries is still largely unknown (Driedger et al, 2015). Allan et al (2013) modeled current environmental stressors affecting the Great Lakes and found that cumulative stress levels were greatest in nearshore regions and generally decreased with distance from the shore.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sources and sinks of microplastics in Canadian Lake Ontario nearshore, tributary and beach sediments

Ballent

Corcoran

Madden

et al. 2016

Marine Pollution Bulletin

Self Cite

571

230

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Microplastics contamination of Lake Ontario sediments is investigated with the aim of identifying distribution patterns and hotspots in nearshore, tributary and beach depositional environments. Microplastics are concentrated in nearshore sediments in the vicinity of urban and industrial regions. In Humber Bay and Toronto Harbour microplastic concentrations were consistently >500 particles per kg dry sediment. Maximum concentrations of ~28,000 particles per kg dry sediment were determined in Etobicoke Creek. The microplastic particles were primarily fibres and fragments < 2 mm in size. Both low-and high-density plastics were identified using Raman spectroscopy. We provide a baseline for future monitoring and discuss potential sources of microplastics in terms of how and where to implement preventative measures to reduce the contaminant influx. Although the impacts of microplastics contamination on ecosystem health and functioning is uncertain, understanding, monitoring and preventing further microplastics contamination in Lake Ontario and the other Great Lakes is crucial . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 Ballent, Anika Manuscript page 1Sources and sinks of microplastics in Canadian Lake Ontario nearshore, tributary and beach sediments. AbstractMicroplastics contamination of Lake Ontario sediments is investigated with the aim of identifying distribution patterns and hotspots in nearshore, tributary and beach depositional environments. Microplastics are concentrated in nearshore sediments in the vicinity of urban and industrial regions. In Humber Bay and Toronto Harbour microplastic concentrations were consistently >500 particles per kg dry sediment. Maximum concentrations of ~28,000 particles per kg dry sediment were determined in Etobicoke Creek. The microplastic particles were primarily fibres and fragments < 2 mm in size. Both low-and high-density plastics were identified using Raman spectroscopy. We provide a baseline for future monitoring and discuss potential sources of microplastics in terms of how and where to implement preventative measures to reduce the contaminant influx. Although the impacts of microplastics contamination on ecosystem health and functioning is uncertain, understanding, monitoring and preventing further microplastics contamination in Lake Ontario and the other Great Lakes is crucial.

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Comparison of the distribution and degradation of plastic debris along shorelines of the Great Lakes, North America

Cited by 410 publications

References 35 publications

Water quality assessment of lake water: a review

Water quality assessment of lake water: a review

Sorption of pharmaceuticals and personal care products to polyethylene debris

Sources and sinks of microplastics in Canadian Lake Ontario nearshore, tributary and beach sediments

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