Small plastic debris in sediments from the Central Adriatic Sea: Types, occurrence and distribution

Mistri, Michele; Infantini, Vanessa; Scoponi, Marco; Granata, Tommaso; Moruzzi, Letizia; Massara, Francesca; Donati, Miriam De; Cristina, Maria Luisa

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.07.063

Cited by 57 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 22 publications

(29 reference statements)

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“…Indirectly, however, the data on the presence of MPs reported for sediments collected in the Gulf of Trieste (133.3 items/kg dry sediment shoreline and 155.6 items/kg dry sediment infralittoral) provide an indication of the importance of the contribution of these rivers [41]. The same considerations, still relative to the Adriatic area, are valid for the Livenza and Lemene rivers, Adige, Reno, Lamone, Fiumi Uniti, Bevano, and Pescara, although not directly monitored, of which the order of magnitude of the contribution of MPs can be deduced from the values found in the sediments of marine areas subject to their influence [42][43][44][45]. In particular, very high levels of MPs were found in the sampling stations located between the mouth of the Livenza and Lemene rivers (700 items/kg dry sediment, [44]) and between the mouth of the United Rivers and the Bevano river, (1512 ± 187 items/kg dry sediment [43].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Knowledge about Microplastic in Mediterranean Tributary River Ecosystems: Lack of Data and Research Needs on Such a Crucial Marine Pollution Source

Guerranti

Perra

Martellini

et al. 2020

JMSE

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Plastic debris occurring in freshwater environments, which can either come from the surrounding terrestrial areas or transported from upstream, has been identified as one of the main sources and routes of plastic pollution in marine systems. The ocean is the final destination of land- based microplastic sources, but compared to marine environments, the occurrence and effects of microplastics in freshwater ecosystems remain largely unknown. A thorough examination of scientific literature on abundance, distribution patterns, and characteristics of microplastics in freshwater environments in Mediterranean tributary rivers has shown a substantial lack of information and the need to apply adequate and uniform measurement methods.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Knowledge about Microplastic in Mediterranean Tributary River Ecosystems: Lack of Data and Research Needs on Such a Crucial Marine Pollution Source

Guerranti

Perra

Martellini

et al. 2020

JMSE

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“…Particularly films are interesting, with a distinct shape and accounting for an important fraction of microplastic pollution in marine sediments. [50][51][52][53][54][55] It is found that including films in the analysis, significantly impacts the results related to the best-available drag model. To illustrate, the most 19 30 which is a function of CSF as single shape descriptor, performs below average as can be seen from Table 6, despite its unique focus on microplastics.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics and Sinking Behavior of Typical Microplastics Including the Potential Effect of Biofouling: Implications for Remediation

Melkebeke

Janssen

Meester³

2020

Environ. Sci. Technol.

195

149

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Microplastics are ubiquitous pollutants within the marine environment, predominantly (> 90 %) accumulating in sediments worldwide. Despite the increasing global concern regarding these anthropogenic pollutants, research into the remediation of microplastics is lacking. Here, we examine those characteristics of microplastics that are essential to adequately evaluate potential remediation techniques such as sedimentation and (air) flotation techniques. We analyzed the sinking behavior of typical microplastics originating from real plastic waste samples and identified the best-available drag model to quantitatively describe their sinking behavior. Particle shape is confirmed to be an important parameter strongly affecting the sinking behavior of microplastics. Various common shape descriptors were experimentally evaluated on their ability to appropriately characterize frequently occurring particle shapes of typical microplastics such as 1 Page 1 of 38 ACS Paragon Plus Environment Environmental Science & Technology spheres, films and fibers. This study is the first in this field to include film particles in its experimental design, which were found to make up a considerable fraction of marine pollution and are shown to significantly affect the evaluation of shape-dependent drag models. Circularity χ and sphericity Φ are found to be appropriate shape descriptors in this context. We also investigated the effect of biofouling on the polarity of marine plastics and estimated its potential contribution to the settling motion of initially floating microplastics based on density-modification. It is found that biofouling alters the polarity of plastics significantly, this is from (near) hydrophobic (i.e. water contact angles from 70 to 100°) to strong hydrophilic surfaces (i.e. water contact angles from 30 to 40°) rendering them more difficult to separate from sediment based on polarity as primary separation factor. Thus, next to providing a better understanding of the fate and behavior of typical marine microplastics, these findings serve as a fundamental stepping stone to the development of the first large-scale sediment remediation technique for microplastics to answer the global microplastic accumulation issue.

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“…Overall, the abundance of polyethylene and polypropylene, relative to other polymers, declines with water depth (Figure 1). Thus, their abundance ranged from not reported to the second most abundant microplastic in coastal sediments from Portuguese shelf waters (7-27 m deep, (Frias et al 2016), sediments in the Adriatic (7-142 m deep, (Mistri et al 2017) and subsurface waters between Germany and South Africa (11 m deep, (Kanhai et al 2017) (Table 4). Of three surveys that sampled microplastics from the deep sea (Bergmann et al 2017, Courtene-Jones et al 2017, Woodall et al 2014 (Table 4), two reported small amounts of polyethylene or polypropylene from two, while the other did not report either.…”

Section: Discussionfate Of Aquatic Plastic Littermentioning

confidence: 99%

The occurrence and degradation of aquatic plastic litter based on polymer physicochemical properties: A review

Bond

Ferrándiz-Mas

Felipe-Sotelo

et al. 2018

Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology

187

112

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The whereabouts of the overwhelming majority of plastic estimated to enter the environment is unknown. This study's aim was to combine information about the environmental occurrence and physicochemical properties of widespread polymers to predict the fate of aquatic plastic litter. Polyethylene and polypropylene are common in the surface layer and shorelines; polyester and cellulosic fibres in sewage treatment works, estuarine and deep-sea sediments. Overall, non-buoyant polymers are underrepresented on the ocean surface. Three main explanations are proposed for the missing plastic. The first is accumulation of both buoyant and non-buoyant polymers in sewage treatment works, river and estuarine sediments and along shorelines. The second is settling of non-buoyant polymers into the deep-sea. The third is fragmentation of both buoyant and non-buoyant polymers into particles smaller than captured by existing experimental methods. Some isolation techniques may overrepresent larger, buoyant particles; methodological improvements are needed to capture the full size-range of plastic litter. When microplastics fragment they become neutrally-buoyant, thus nanoplastics are potentially widely dispersed in aquatic systems, both horizontally and vertically. Ultimately, over decades or longer, plastics are potentially solubilized and subsequently biodegraded. The rates at which these processes apply to plastic litter in different environmental compartments remain largely unknown.

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Small plastic debris in sediments from the Central Adriatic Sea: Types, occurrence and distribution

Cited by 57 publications

References 22 publications

Knowledge about Microplastic in Mediterranean Tributary River Ecosystems: Lack of Data and Research Needs on Such a Crucial Marine Pollution Source

Knowledge about Microplastic in Mediterranean Tributary River Ecosystems: Lack of Data and Research Needs on Such a Crucial Marine Pollution Source

Characteristics and Sinking Behavior of Typical Microplastics Including the Potential Effect of Biofouling: Implications for Remediation

The occurrence and degradation of aquatic plastic litter based on polymer physicochemical properties: A review

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