Effects of Particle Properties on the Settling and Rise Velocities of Microplastics in Freshwater under Laboratory Conditions

Waldschläger, Kryss; Schüttrumpf, Holger

doi:10.1021/acs.est.8b06794

Cited by 291 publications

(285 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…The parametric expression for this velocity, a balance between the drag and the buoyancy forces, is known for regular shapes, such as spheres, disks, and ellipsoids (Clift et al 1978, Leith 1987, though it is less-well understood for irregularly shaped particles. This approach-widely used in sedimentology-was verified experimentally in fluid at rest for plastics between 1 and 5 mm with regular shapes (Waldschläger and Schüttrumpf 2019) and for smaller particles (Khatmullina andIsachenko 2017, Kaiser et al 2019). However, plastics have random and ragged shapes and Poulain et al (2019) developed a tool to predict upper and lower bounds for rise velocity for particles of sizes between 1 and 5 mm.…”

Section: Laboratory Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 90%

The physical oceanography of the transport of floating marine debris

Sebille

Aliani

Law

et al. 2020

Environ. Res. Lett.

570

267

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Marine plastic debris floating on the ocean surface is a major environmental problem. However, its distribution in the ocean is poorly mapped, and most of the plastic waste estimated to have entered the ocean from land is unaccounted for. Better understanding of how plastic debris is transported from coastal and marine sources is crucial to quantify and close the global inventory of marine plastics, which in turn represents critical information for mitigation or policy strategies. At the same time, plastic is a unique tracer that provides an opportunity to learn more about the physics and dynamics of our ocean across multiple scales, from the Ekman convergence in basin-scale gyres to individual waves in the surfzone. In this review, we comprehensively discuss what is known about the different processes that govern the transport of floating marine plastic debris in both the open ocean and the coastal zones, based on the published literature and referring to insights from neighbouring fields such as oil spill dispersion, marine safety recovery, plankton connectivity, and others. We discuss how measurements of marine plastics (both in situ and in the laboratory), remote sensing, and numerical simulations can elucidate these processes and their interactions across spatio-temporal scales. Environ. Res. Lett. 15 (2020) 023003 E van Sebille et al Environ. Res. Lett. 15 (2020) 023003 E van Sebille et al References Acha E M, Mianzan H W, Iribarne O, Gagliardini D A, Lasta C and Daleo P 2003 The role of the Rı́o de la Plata bottom salinity front in accumulating debris Mar. Pollut. Bull. 46 197-202 Acha E M, Piola A, Iribarne O and Mianzan H 2015 Ecological Processes at Marine Fronts: Oases in the Ocean (Berlin: Springer) Aliani S and Molcard A 2003 Hitch-hiking on floating marine debris: macrobenthic species in the Western Mediterranean Sea Hydrobiologia 503 59-67 Allen J 1985 Principles of Physical Sedimentology (Berlin: Springer) Alpers W 1985 Theory of radar imaging of internal waves Nature 314 245-7 Alsina J M and Cáceres I 2011 Sediment suspension events in the inner surf and swash zone. Measurements in large-scale and high-energy wave conditions Coast. Eng. 58

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Section: Laboratory Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 90%

The physical oceanography of the transport of floating marine debris

Sebille

Aliani

Law

et al. 2020

Environ. Res. Lett.

570

267

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“…2d). A possible explanation is that large plastics are prone to forces of flow and wind leading to floating on water, while smaller plastics tend to migrate into sediments and deep water [26,27]. Size distribution of group YRS and ILR in both phases is shown in Additional file 1: Table S3.…”

Section: Shape Color and Size Of Microplasticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics in surface water and sediments of Chongming Island in the Yangtze Estuary, China

Zheng

et al. 2020

Environ Sci Eur

145

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Background: The Yangtze Estuary acts as gateways where microplastics transport from freshwater into marine environments, with one of the largest discharge volumes in the world. The occurrence of microplastics in surface water and sediments of the Yangtze Estuary has been reported. However, little is known about microplastics in and around Chongming Island in the estuary. In this study, the distribution of microplastics in surface water and sediments of Chongming Island was investigated and compared in different environmental medium.Results: Abundances of microplastics in surface water and sediments were in the ranges of 0-259 items m − 3 and 10-60 items kg − 1 dry weight, respectively. Microplastics were more abundant in the surface water of the Yangtze River shores than in the inland rivers (p < 0.01). Proportions in fiber form in surface water and sediment were 33% and 67%; and those in fragment form were 39% and 24%. Most particles (> 72%) were < 1 mm in the longest dimension; 65% were white and 30% were transparent. Of the 11 compositions identified, polyethylene, polypropylene, and α-cellulose predominated in both phases.Conclusion: This is the first study to focus on microplastics in inland watercourses on Chongming Island and along the Yangtze River's shores in both phases. There were differences between the island and estuary in composition and density due to the distinct vertical mixing processes. The in situ filtration of surface water (100 L) sampling method was well employed in various freshwater environments and free of plastic materials in front of the filter, analysis results of which provided an important baseline reference for evaluating microplastic pollution in the Yangtze Estuary. Publisher's NoteSpringer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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“…The critical shear stress is calculated from the Shields curve (Shields, 1936). Exception are fibers, for which we chose the empirically determined parameterizations by Waldschläger and Schüttrumpf (2019a) for the sinking velocity FIGURE 1 | Location of the about 3500 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the Baltic Sea catchment (black dots) and microplastics emission pathways/points (rivers and direct discharge) to the Baltic Sea.…”

Section: Model Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is well known, that beside density, shape and size play an important role for the sinking velocity (e.g.,; Kowalski et al, 2016;Kooi and Koelmans, 2019). Waldschläger and Schüttrumpf (2019a;2019b) provide an overview of data and formulas, which were adapted by us. However, differences in shape and size did not play an important role for the temporal and spatial resolution we used in our model approach.…”

Section: Uncertainties and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transport and Behavior of Microplastics Emissions From Urban Sources in the Baltic Sea

Schernewski

Radtke

Hauk

et al. 2020

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Urban sources, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), untreated wastewater (not connected to WWTPs), and especially combined sewer overflow systems (CSS) including stormwater are major pathways for microplastics in the aquatic environment. We compile microplastics emission data for the Baltic Sea region, calculate emissions for each pathway and develop emission scenarios for selected polymer types, namely polyethylene (PE)/polypropylene (PP) and the polyester polyethylene terephthalate (PET). PE/PP and PET differ with respect to their density and can be regarded as representative for large groups of polymers. We consider particles between 20-500 µm with varying shapes. The emission scenarios serve as input for 3D-model simulations, which allow us to estimate transport, behavior, and deposition in the Baltic Sea environment. According to our model results, the average residence time of PET and PE/PP in the Baltic Sea water body is about 14 days. Microplastics from urban sources cause average concentrations of 1.4 PE/PP (0.7 PET) particles/m 2 sea surface (20-500 µm size range) in the Baltic Sea during summer. Average concentrations of PET, resulting from urban sources, at the sea floor are 4 particles/m 2 sediment surface during summer. Our model approach suggests that accumulation at the shoreline is the major sink for microplastic with annual coastal PE/PP and PET accumulation rates of up to 10 8 particles/m each near emission hot-spots and in enclosed and semi-closed systems. All concentrations show strong spatial and temporal variability and are linked to high uncertainties. The seasonality of CSS (including stormwater) emissions is assessed in detail. In the southeastern Baltic, emissions during July and August can be up to 50% of the annual CSS and above 1/3 of the total annual microplastic emissions. The practical consequences especially for monitoring, which should focus on beaches, are discussed. Further, it seems that PET, PE/PP can serve as indicators to assess the state of pollution.

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Effects of Particle Properties on the Settling and Rise Velocities of Microplastics in Freshwater under Laboratory Conditions

Cited by 291 publications

References 55 publications

The physical oceanography of the transport of floating marine debris

The physical oceanography of the transport of floating marine debris

Microplastics in surface water and sediments of Chongming Island in the Yangtze Estuary, China

Transport and Behavior of Microplastics Emissions From Urban Sources in the Baltic Sea

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