Plastic in the Thames: A river runs through it

Morritt, David; Stefanoudis, Paris V.; Pearce, Dave; Crimmen, Oliver A.; Clark, Paul F.

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.10.035

Cited by 271 publications

(143 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The two studies described in detail in this chapter have been conducted in the same region and found that the sources of plastic (and MP) pollution were linked to urban refuse and fishing activities. This echoes the findings of studies in other freshwater areas, where type of plastic and MPs reflect the usages and anthropogenic inputs of the local populations [10,13,25]. The population of Mwanza is estimated to be 1.12 million people by 2020 (Table 1), and while not an insignificant number, this is by no means the largest urban center close to a freshwater body.…”

Section: Future Research Needssupporting

confidence: 76%

“…In proximity to freshwater systems, plastic waste then has the potential to enter the aquatic environment where subsequent degradation can form MPs. The link between urban waste and MPs has been established in the freshwater MP literature [10,11,13,15], but to date there is little information on this specific to African freshwaters. Contributions to MP concentrations may also be from fishing and tourism activities [25] which are commonly linked to freshwaters.…”

Section: African Freshwaters and The Potential For Mp Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Microplastics in Inland African Waters: Presence, Sources, and Fate

Khan

Mayoma

Biginagwa

et al. 2017

The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry

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As the birthplace of our species, the African continent holds a unique place in human history. Upon entering a new epoch, the Anthropocene defined by human-driven influences on earth systems, and with the recognition that plastic pollution is one of the hallmarks of this new age, remarkably little is known about the presence, sources, and fate of plastics (and microplastics (MPs)) within African waters. Research in marine regions, most notably around the coast of South Africa, describes the occurrence of MPs in seabirds and fish species. More recently environmental sampling studies in the same area have quantified plastics in both the water column and sediments. However, despite Africa containing some of the largest and deepest of the world's freshwater lakes, including Lakes Victoria and Tanganyika as part of the African Great Lakes system, and notable freshwater rivers, such as the River Congo and the Nile, the extent of MPs within the inland waters remains largely unreported. In the only study to date to describe MP pollution in the African Great Lakes, a variety of polymers, including polyethylene, polypropylene, and silicone rubber, were recovered from the gastrointestinal tracts of Nile perch (Lates niloticus) and Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fished from Lake Victoria. The likely sources of these plastics were considered to be human activities linked to fishing and tourism, and urban waste. In this chapter we discuss the need for research focus on MPs in Africa and how what has been described in the coastal regions and other freshwater environments can be applied to inland African waters. The aforementioned study in Lake Victoria is used to exemplify how small-scale investigations can provide early indications of MP pollution. Lastly we discuss the current challenges and future needs of MP research in African freshwaters.

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Section: Future Research Needssupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: African Freshwaters and The Potential For Mp Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics in Inland African Waters: Presence, Sources, and Fate

Khan

Mayoma

Biginagwa

et al. 2017

The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry

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“…In some cases, litter can clearly be attributed to shipping, sometimes accounting for up to 95 % of all litter items in a given region, a large proportion of which originates from fishing activities often coming in the form of derelict nets ). In the North Sea, this percentage has been temporally stable (Galgani et al 2011a) but litter may be supplemented by coastal recreational activities and riverine input (Lechner et al 2014;Morritt et al 2014). Studies along the US west coast, specifically off the coast of the southern California Bight (Moore and Allen 2000;Watters et al 2010;Keller et al 2010;Schlining et al 2013) have shown that ocean-based sources are the major contributors to marine debris in the eastern North Pacific with, for example, fishing gear being the most abundant debris off Oregon (June 1990).…”

Section: Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Floating litter items can be transported by the currents until they sink to the seafloor, be deposited on the shore or degrade over time (Andrady 2015). While the occurrence of anthropogenic litter items floating in the world oceans was reported already decades ago (Venrick et al 1972;Morris 1980), the existence of accumulation zones of Floating Marine Debris (FMD) in oceanic gyres has only recently gained worldwide attention (Moore et al 2001b).…”

Section: Floating Marine Debrismentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Distribution, Composition and Abundance of Marine Litter

Galgani

Hanke

Maes

2015

Marine Anthropogenic Litter

442

338

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Marine debris is commonly observed everywhere in the oceans. Litter enters the seas from both land-based sources, from ships and other installations at sea, from point and diffuse sources, and can travel long distances before being stranded. Plastics typically constitute the most important part of marine litter sometimes accounting for up to 100 % of floating litter. On beaches, most studies have demonstrated densities in the 1 item m −2 range except for very high concentrations because of local conditions, after typhoons or flooding events. Floating marine debris ranges from 0 to beyond 600 items km −2 . On the sea bed, the abundance of plastic debris is very dependent on location, with densities ranging from 0 to >7700 items km −2 , mainly in coastal areas. Recent studies have demonstrated that pollution of microplastics, particles <5 mm, has spread at the surface of oceans, in the water column and in sediments, even in the deep sea. Concentrations at the water surface ranged from thousands to hundred thousands of particles km −2 . Fluxes vary widely with factors such as proximity of urban activities, shore and coastal uses, wind and ocean currents. These enable the presence of accumulation areas in oceanic convergence zones and on the seafloor, notably in coastal canyons. Temporal trends are not clear with evidences for increases, decreases or without changes, depending on locations and environmental conditions. In terms of distribution and quantities, proper global estimations based on standardized approaches are still needed before considering efficient management and reduction measures.

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“…Rivers and urban tributaries, however, have been shown to be major transport pathways for microplastics and macroplastics (Moore et al, 2011;Gasperi et al, 2014;Lechner et al, 2014;Rech et al, 2014;Zhao et al, 2014;Corcoran et al, 2015;Naidoo et al, 2015). Whereas buoyant materials are transported on surface waters (Gasperi et al, 2014), non-buoyant materials are transported along the tributary bed (Moore et al, 2011;Morritt et al, 2014). Microplastic debris loads can be introduced into tributaries via non-point spill and litter sources as well as point sources such as effluent pipes (Lechner & Ramler 2015), storm water drainage outlets (Armitage & Rooseboom 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 3 2000) and possibly wastewater treatment plants, particularly during combined sewage overflow and bypass events during heavy precipitation conditions (MacDonald and Podolsky, 2009).…”

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

568

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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Plastic in the Thames: A river runs through it

Cited by 271 publications

References 17 publications

Microplastics in Inland African Waters: Presence, Sources, and Fate

Microplastics in Inland African Waters: Presence, Sources, and Fate

Global Distribution, Composition and Abundance of Marine Litter

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

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