Microplastics in Baltic bottom sediments: Quantification procedures and first results

Zobkov, Mikhail; Esiukova, Elena

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.10.060

Cited by 221 publications

(82 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Most microplastics observed were fibers (87%). This phenomenon has been observed in other sediment analyses (MONAS, 2014;Woodall et al, 2015;Zobkov and Esiukova, 2017). Browne (2015) suggests microplastic fibers found in marine habitats may be derived from sewage as consequence of washing clothes.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

“…Microplastics (plastics <5 mm, Arthur et al, 2008) have been observed throughout bottom sediments of marine and freshwater environments, including sediments in rivers (Casta-eda et al, 2014), estuaries (Thompson et al, 2004;Sruthy and Ramasamy, 2017), lagoons (Vianello et al, 2013), lakes (Corcoran et al, 2015), seas (Zobkov and Esiukova, 2017), and deep sea trenches (Van Cauwenberghe et al, 2013;Woodall et al, 2014;Fischer et al, 2015). Microplastics are commonly found in the environment in three forms; fragments which form from mechanical and biological fragmentation of larger plastic items (ter Halle et al, 2016), microbeads which are manufactured as abrasives in cosmetics and air-blasting (Fendall and Sewell, 2009;Mason et al, 2016), and microfibers from sources such as synthetic fabrics and ropes (Browne et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Microplastic Distribution at Different Sediment Depths in an Urban Estuary

et al. 2017

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As plastic production increases, so to do the threats from plastic pollution. Microplastics (defined as plastics <5 mm) are a subset of marine debris about which we know less than we do of larger debris items, though they are potentially ubiquitous in the marine environment. To quantify the distribution and change in microplastic densities through time, we sampled sediment cores from an estuary in Tasmania, Australia. We hypothesized that the type, distribution and abundance of microplastics observed would be associated with increasing plastic production, coastal population growth, and proximity to urban water outflows and local hydrodynamics. Sediments ranging from the year 1744 to 2004 were sub-sampled from each core. We observed microplastics in every sample, with greater plastic frequencies found in the upper (more recent) sediments. This time trend of microplastic accumulation matched that of global plastic production and coastal population growth. We observed that fibers were the most abundant type of microplastic in our samples. These fibers were present in sediments that settled prior to the presence of plastics in the environment. We propose a simple statistical model to estimate the level of contamination in our samples. We suggest that the current trend in the literature suggesting very high loads of fibers, particularly in remote locations such as the deep seafloor, may be largely due to contamination.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastic Distribution at Different Sediment Depths in an Urban Estuary

et al. 2017

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“…Preliminary sediment treatment with oxidizers (Strand et al ), possibly with Fenton's reagent (Tagg et al ) or using ultrasound (Cooper and Corcoran ), or a combination of them, to clean and detach MPs from denser particles in order to sever the biological ties of MPs with sediments could be a direct solution of the problem. This way Strand et al () were able to extract much more MPs from bottom deposits, compared to our previous study in the Baltic Sea (Zobkov and Esiukova ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

“…The filter nets containing MPs successfully extracted with MPSS, total solids filtered from instrument wash‐out and separation solution, and spoil dump fractions of MPSS were analyzed separately with the modified NOAA method (Zobkov and Esiukova ), as well as the corresponding sample.…”

Section: Materials and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In brief, the modified NOAA method (Zobkov and Esiukova ) consists of the following main steps (Fig. , lower frame): Multiple MPs extraction from a sediment sample by means of density separation with ZnCl 2 solution (specific density 1.6 g mL −1 ). Filtering of supernatant and solution above the sediment with the filter funnel. Wet peroxide oxidation on the water bath with the Fenton's reagent (Tagg et al ). Calcite fraction digestion with HCl solution. Filtering with filter funnel. Density separation to detach oxidized organic matter. Filtering with filter funnel. MPs detection with stereomicroscope. …”

Section: Materials and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of the Munich Plastic Sediment Separator efficiency in extraction of microplastics from natural marine bottom sediments

Zobkov

Esiukova

2017

Limnology & Ocean Methods

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The Munich Plastic Sediment Separator (MPSS), proposed by Imhof et al. (), showed its high efficiency in extracting microplastics (MPs) from natural sediment samples preliminarily cleaned and then enriched by MPs in laboratory. We tested the efficiency of the MPSS, assembled at the Atlantic Branch of P.P.Shirshov Institute of Oceanology (Kaliningrad), using unprepared natural bottom deposits of different types collected in the Baltic Sea. The tests that were performed included spikes of sediments with artificial reference particles (ARPs) and the sediment samples analyses with two separate methods of extraction and determination of MPs content in residuals of MPSS. While the ARP extraction efficiency from natural sediments by the MPSS was really high (97.1% ± 2.6%; p = 0.05; n = 14; confidence interval, t‐distribution), the extraction efficiency of marine MPs was considerably lower (13–39%) than that obtained with a modification of the method previously published by NOAA. The remaining marine MPs were found in the spoil dump and in the bulk solution fractions of the separator, indicating that MPs were not perfectly cleaned from sediment particles, probably, due to presence of organic matter. It is concluded that the MPSS application for quantitative MPs analysis requires further testing and elaboration of standardized extraction procedures.

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