22
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: not found
      • Article: not found

      Microplastic Pollution in Benthic Midstream Sediments of the Rhine River

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPubMed
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Rivers are major transport vectors for microplastics (MP) toward the sea. However, there is evidence that MP can temporarily or permanently be inhibited from migrating downstream by retention in sediments or ingestion by organisms. MP concentrations, compositions, and fate within the different compartments of the fluvial environment are poorly understood. Here, benthic, midstream sediments of two undammed, open-flowing stretches were investigated in the Rhine River, one of the world's busiest inland waterways. Twenty-five samples were collected at ten sites via riverbed access through a diving bell or dredging. We performed the first comprehensive analysis of riverbed sediment aliquots that avoids visual selection bias using state-of-the art automated micro-Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (μFTIR) imaging. MP numbers ranged between 0.26 ± 0.01 and 11.07 ± 0.6 × 103 MP kg-1 while MP particles <75 μm accounted for a mean numerical proportion ± SD of 96 ± 6%. MP concentrations decreased with sediment depth. Eighteen polymers were identified in the size range of 11-500 μm; the acrylates/polyurethane/varnish (APV) cluster was found at all sites (mean numerical proportion, 70 ± 19%), possibly indicating particulate pollution from ship antifouling paint. Overall, polymers denser than freshwater (>1 g cm-3) dominated (85 ± 18%), which contrasts the large proportions of low-density polymers previously reported in near-surface compartments of the Rhine.

          Related collections

          Author and article information

          Journal
          Environmental Science & Technology
          Environ. Sci. Technol.
          American Chemical Society (ACS)
          0013-936X
          1520-5851
          May 09 2019
          May 09 2019
          Affiliations
          [1 ]Department of Environmental Sciences, The Man-Society-Environment Program, University of Basel, Vesalgasse 1, 4051 Basel, Switzerland
          [2 ]Department of Microbial Ecology, Biologische Anstalt Helgoland, Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Kurpromenade, 27498 Helgoland, Germany
          Article
          10.1021/acs.est.9b01363
          31021624
          f6946f20-0792-42da-ab94-5aa588c74aa1
          © 2019
          History

          Comments

          Comment on this article