Measuring riverine macroplastic: Methods, harmonisation, and quality control

Water Research, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 235, P. 119902 - 119902

Published: March 20, 2023

River systems are a key environmental recipient of macroplastic pollution. Understanding the sources to rivers and mechanisms controlling fate transport is essential identify tailor measures that can effectively reduce global plastic Several guidelines exist for monitoring in rivers; yet, no single method has emerged representing standard approach. This reflects substantial variability river globally need adapt methods local context goals. Here we present critical review used measure flows rivers, with specific focus on opportunities testing, harmonisation, quality assurance control (QA/QC). studies have already revealed important findings; however, there significant disparity reporting methodologies data. There converge methods, their adaptations, towards greater comparability. be achieved through: i) testing better understand what each how it applied different contexts; ii) incorporating QA/QC procedures during sampling analysis; iii) methodological details data more harmonised way facilitate comparability utilisation by several end users, including policy makers. Setting this as priority now will collection rigorous comparable help frame solutions limit pollution, forthcoming treaty

Language: Английский

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Conceptual model of global plants entrapping plastics

Environmental Reviews, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 32(4), P. 470 - 484

Published: May 11, 2024

Aquatic plants, seagrasses, macrophytes, mangroves, and riparian vegetation are responsible for some of the most important ecosystem services provided on Earth. Given their role in trapping plastics along rivers, we propose a new service plastic entrapment by global plants. Although research started recently to study plastics, little is known about patterns retention remobilization through different habitats. those gaps, synthesize data plants providing conceptual model describe processes vegetation. Our results demonstrate how has pivotal entrapping across spatial temporal scales, finding higher density rather than adjacent water area. Furthermore, proposed (i.e., Plant Plastic Pathway) highlighting scales release Thus, anticipate our be starting point more sophisticated future studies, putting effort into looking at plastic–vegetation dynamics. may have crucial effect if applied hotspot area detection with clean-up mitigation actions riverine ecosystems.

Language: Английский

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A source-to-sink perspective of an anthropogenic marker: A first assessment of microplastics concentration, pathways, and accumulation across the environment

Earth-Science Reviews, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 254, P. 104822 - 104822

Published: May 29, 2024

Source-to-sink geoscientific domain and environmental plastic cycle studies are two major scientific worlds starting to interact, taking benefit from each other. To advance in our understanding of the sharing benefits between interconnecting research communities, we firstly carry out a review sedimentology, sources, sinks, transport dynamic pathways microplastics along entire source-to-sink (S2S) profile. The main peculiarities for numerous distributed sources across environment, as well importance physical properties shape factors. Then, propose mass concentration S2S profile discuss influence sedimentation rate on microplastic accumulation identify intermediate reservoir final fates. Deep sea deposits, including turbidite systems potentially hotspots that poorly studied, deserving much more attention scale balance studies. This finally highlights areas synergies communities guide future interdisciplinary research. Most these issues will rely multiplying measurements all matrices environments based standard technology generate homogenized large database microplastics.

Language: Английский

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River plastic transport affected by tidal dynamics

Hydrology and earth system sciences, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 28(3), P. 589 - 610

Published: Feb. 9, 2024

Abstract. Plastic is an emerging pollutant, and the quantities in rivers oceans are expected to increase. Rivers assumed transport land-based plastic into ocean, fluvial marine processes have been relatively well studied date. However, controlling tidal estuaries, interface between systems, remain largely unresolved. For this reason, current estimates of riverine pollution export ocean highly uncertain. Hydrodynamics estuaries influenced by tides freshwater discharge. As a consequence, flow velocity direction magnitude can change diurnally. In turn, impacts dynamics solutes pollutants, including plastics. understudied, yet available observations suggest that plastics be retained here for long time periods, especially during periods low net Additional factors such as riparian vegetation riverbank characteristics, combination with bi-directional flows varying water levels, lead even higher likelihood long-term retention. Here, we provide first observation-based estimate on daily timescale rivers. purpose, developed simple Eulerian approach using sub-hourly discharge full cycles. We applied our method polluted Saigon River, Vietnam, throughout six cycles May 2022. show about 20 %–33 % total transport. found river positively significantly correlated (Pearson's R2 = 0.76). The than (20 16 %, respectively), suggesting governed other flow. Such include wind, concentrations water, entrapment downstream measurement site. rates alternate positive (seaward) negative (landward) result diurnal inequality soft neutrally buoyant items had considerably lower rigid (10 %–16 vs. 30 %–38 %), strongly depend item characteristics. Our results demonstrate crucial role dynamics. With paper emphasize importance understanding fundamental ultimately reduce uncertainties emission ocean.

Language: Английский

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Plastic does not simply flow into the sea: River transport dynamics affected by tides and floating plants

Environmental Pollution, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 345, P. 123524 - 123524

Published: Feb. 12, 2024

Plastic pollution is ubiquitous in aquatic environments worldwide. Rivers connect terrestrial and marine ecosystems, playing a key role the transport of land-based plastic waste towards sea. Emerging research suggests that estuaries tidal rivers, dynamics play significant retention dynamics. To date, observations these systems have been limited, during single cycles remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated transport, trapping, re-mobilization macroplastics (> 0.5 cm) Saigon River, focusing on short-term individual cycles. We used GPS trackers, released at different stages cycle (ebb, flood, neap, spring). items demonstrated dynamic intermittent behavior. Items spent almost half time (49%) temporarily stopped, mainly due to their entrapment vegetation, infrastructure, or deposition riverbanks. were always re-mobilized within 10 h (85%), leading successive phases stopping transport. Tidal also resulted bidirectional items, with median daily total distance 40 km study reach (8.9 day−1) over four times larger than net (2.0 day−1). The was 21 days (mean = 202 days). In total, 81% retrieved trapped water hyacinths, emphasizing important floating vegetation river With this paper, aim provide data-driven insights into macroplastic tropical river. These are crucial design effective intervention monitoring strategies, estimating emission from rivers

Language: Английский

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Macroplastic Debris Transfer in Rivers: A Travel Distance Approach

Frontiers in Water, Journal Year: 2021, Volume and Issue: 3

Published: Sept. 21, 2021

Plastic accumulation in the marine environment is a major concern given harmful effects and longevity of plastics at sea. Although rivers are likely to significantly contribute flux plastic systems, behaviour debris fluvial systems remains poorly understood estimates riverine derived from field measurements modelling efforts highly uncertain. This paper presents new probabilistic model transport which describes main processes controlling displacement predicts statistical distribution travel distances for individual items buoyant macroplastic debris. Macroplastic controlled by retention temporary stores (or traps) created vegetation, bank roughness elements other obstacles. The these traps represented via series Bernoulli trials conducted Monte Carlo simulation framework. was applied tracer experiment small 1.1 km river reach. Three replicates were used calibration three validation. For each replicate, 90 closed air-filled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles introduced upstream end reach location bottle recorded after 24 h. Bottles chosen as “model” litter their high usage littering rate. Travel low. average maximum travelled over h 231 m km, respectively. They also variable. coefficient variation 0.94. Spatial patterns characteristics discrete traps. able describe observed distance distributions reasonably well, suggesting that longer reaches even whole catchments using stochastic approach feasible. has potential improve flux, although significant knowledge gaps remain (e.g., rate supply behaviours different types trap effectiveness system, season, discharge).

Language: Английский

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Disentangling Variability in Riverbank Macrolitter Observations

Environmental Science & Technology, Journal Year: 2021, Volume and Issue: 55(8), P. 4932 - 4942

Published: April 1, 2021

Anthropogenic macrolitter (>0.5 cm) in rivers is of increasing concern. It has been found to have an adverse effect on riverine ecosystem health, and the livelihoods communities depending living next these ecosystems. Yet, little known how reaches propagates through A better understanding transport dynamics key developing effective reduction, preventive, cleanup measures. In this study, we analyzed a novel dataset citizen science riverbank observations Dutch Rhine–Meuse delta, spanning two years over 200 unique locations, with litter categorized into 111 item categories according river-OSPAR protocol. With use regression models, much variation can be explained by hydrometeorology, observer bias, location, instead temporal trends seasonality. The results show that observation bias very low, only few exceptions, contrast total variance observations. Additionally, models precipitation, wind speed, river flow are all important explanatory variables abundance variability. However, number items significantly 19% six display R2 above 0.4. This suggests substantial part variability product chance, caused unaccounted (and often fundamentally unknowable) stochastic processes, rather than being driven deterministic processes studied our analyses. implications findings for modeling movement effectively, probabilistic approach strong uncertainty analysis fundamental. turn, point need planned capture short-term

Language: Английский

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First insight into the macroplastic storage in a mountain river: The role of in-river vegetation cover, wood jams and channel morphology

The Science of The Total Environment, Journal Year: 2022, Volume and Issue: 838, P. 156354 - 156354

Published: May 29, 2022

Macroplastic storage in mountain rivers remains unexplored and it is unknown how river morphology different surface types of areas modulate this process. Therefore, we sampled macroplastic debris stored on the emergent with vegetation cover wood jams a channelized, single-thread reach an unmanaged, multi-thread Dunajec River Polish Carpathians. Total amounts retained these reaches were then estimated basis mean mass deposited unit area each type given reach. Exposed sediments covered herbaceous significantly lower (0.6 0.9 g per 1 m2 average) than wooded islands (respectively 6 113 m2). The exceeded 19, 129 180 times those found islands, exposed sediments. Wooded covering 16.7% 1.5% 43.8% 41.1%, respectively, total amount that reach, whereas practically absent channelized Consequently, 2.4 wider neighbouring 36 greater km length. Our study demonstrated controlled by channel management style resultant morphology, which hydrodynamics longitudinal pattern zones transport retention conveyed flow.

Language: Английский

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The unknown fate of macroplastic in mountain rivers

The Science of The Total Environment, Journal Year: 2022, Volume and Issue: 865, P. 161224 - 161224

Published: Dec. 28, 2022

Mountain rivers are typically seen as relatively pristine ecosystems, supporting numerous goods (e.g., water resources) for human populations living not only in the mountain regions but also downstream from them. However recent evidence suggests that river valleys populated areas can be substantially polluted by macroplastic (plastic item >25 mm). It is unknown how distinct characteristics of modulate routes through them, which makes planning effective mitigation strategies difficult. To stimulate future works on this gap, we present a conceptual model transport pathways river. Based model, formulate four hypotheses input, and mechanical degradation rivers. Then, propose designs field experiments allow each hypothesis to tested. We hypothesize some natural catchments accelerate input improperly disposed waste slope Further, specific hydromorphological high flow velocity) rate together with presence shallow coarse bed sediments it channels, accelerating secondary microplastic production. The above act factories, able produce more same amount inputted into them (in comparison lowland have different hydromorphology). produced risks affect transported downstream. challenge manage hypothesized risks, especially particularly exposed plastic pollution due management deficiencies, tourism pressure, poor ecological awareness population lack uniform regional global regulations problem.

Language: Английский

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Plastic pollution in marine and freshwater environments: abundance, sources, and mitigation

Elsevier eBooks, Journal Year: 2022, Volume and Issue: unknown, P. 241 - 274

Published: Jan. 1, 2022

Language: Английский

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