High Quantities of Microplastic in Arctic Deep-Sea Sediments from the HAUSGARTEN Observatory

Bergmann, Melanie; Wirzberger, Vanessa; Krumpen, Thomas; Lorenz, Claudia; Primpke, Sebastian; Tekman, Mine Banu; Gerdts, Gunnar

doi:10.1021/acs.est.7b03331

Cited by 708 publications

(374 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Our experiments clearly showed that aggregates composed of biogenic particles and microplastics can be stable for several days, which makes it conceivable that such aggregates can 'survive' the often relatively long-lasting sinking to great depths without breaking apart and becoming decomposed before they reach the ocean floor. Accordingly, besides a potential transport via the food web, sinking in aggregates is very likely to be the main transport pathway that causes the presence of microplastics in deep-sea sediments observed earlier [9,11,13]. Important implications of these processes are an increased availability of microplastics to benthic organisms and a long-term accumulation of microplastics in marine sediments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid aggregation of biofilm-covered microplastics with marine biogenic particles

et al. 2018

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Ocean plastic pollution has resulted in a substantial accumulation of microplastics in the marine environment. Today, this plastic litter is ubiquitous in the oceans, including even remote habitats such as deep-sea sediments and polar sea ice, and it is believed to pose a threat to ecosystem health. However, the concentration of microplastics in the surface layer of the oceans is considerably lower than expected, given the ongoing replenishment of microplastics and the tendency of many plastic types to float. It has been hypothesized that microplastics leave the upper ocean by aggregation and subsequent sedimentation. We tested this hypothesis by investigating the interactions of microplastics with marine biogenic particles collected in the southwestern Baltic Sea. Our laboratory experiments revealed a large potential of microplastics to rapidly coagulate with biogenic particles, which substantiates this hypothesis. Together with the biogenic particles, the microplastics efficiently formed pronounced aggregates within a few days. The aggregation of microplastics and biogenic particles was significantly accelerated by microbial biofilms that had formed on the plastic surfaces. We assume that the demonstrated aggregation behaviour facilitates the export of microplastics from the surface layer of the oceans and plays an important role in the redistribution of microplastics in the oceans.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid aggregation of biofilm-covered microplastics with marine biogenic particles

et al. 2018

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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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“…However, the growth of earthworms is meaningfully different in soil ecosystems, particularly agricultural land, contaminated with microplastics [21]. In addition, it is noteworthy that microplastics are widespread in naturally-occurring Arctic deep-sea sediments [22] and in snow ranging from the Alps to the Arctic [23]. Therefore, microplastic and nanoplastic contamination is everywhere [24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potent Impact of Plastic Nanomaterials and Micromaterials on the Food Chain and Human Health

Wang

Lee

Chiu

et al. 2020

IJMS

129

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Plastic products are inexpensive, convenient, and are have many applications in daily life. We overuse plastic-related products and ineffectively recycle plastic that is difficult to degrade. Plastic debris can be fragmented into smaller pieces by many physical and chemical processes. Plastic debris that is fragmented into microplastics or nanoplastics has unclear effects on organismal systems. Recently, this debris was shown to affect biota and to be gradually spreading through the food chain. In addition, studies have indicated that workers in plastic-related industries develop many kinds of cancer because of chronic exposure to high levels of airborne microplastics. Microplastics and nanoplastics are everywhere now, contaminating our water, air, and food chain. In this review, we introduce a classification of plastic polymers, define microplastics and nanoplastics, identify plastics that contaminate food, describe the damage and diseases caused by microplastics and nanoplastics, and the molecular and cellular mechanisms of this damage and disease as well as solutions for their amelioration. Thus, we expect to contribute to the understanding of the effects of microplastics and nanoplastics on cellular and molecular mechanisms and the ways that the uptake of microplastics and nanoplastics are potentially dangerous to our biota. After understanding the issues, we can focus on how to handle the problems caused by plastic overuse.

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High Quantities of Microplastic in Arctic Deep-Sea Sediments from the HAUSGARTEN Observatory

Cited by 708 publications

References 61 publications

Rapid aggregation of biofilm-covered microplastics with marine biogenic particles

Rapid aggregation of biofilm-covered microplastics with marine biogenic particles

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

Potent Impact of Plastic Nanomaterials and Micromaterials on the Food Chain and Human Health

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