Can a Sediment Core Reveal the Plastic Age? Microplastic Preservation in a Coastal Sedimentary Record
Simon-Sánchez, Laura (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Grelaud, Michael (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Lorenz, Claudia (Aalborg Universitet)
Garcia-Orellana, Jordi (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Física)
Vianello, Alvise (Aalborg Universitet)
Liu, Fan (Aalborg Universitet)
Vollertsen, Jes (Aalborg Universitet)
Ziveri, Patrizia (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)

Date:	2022
Abstract:	The seafloor is the major sink for microplastic (MP) pollutants. However, there is a lack of robust data on the historical evolution of MP pollution in the sediment compartment, particularly the sequestration and burial rate of small MPs. By combining a palaeoceanographic approach and state-of-the-art analytical methods for MP identification down to 11 μm in size, we present the first high-resolution reconstruction of MP pollution from an undisturbed sediment core collected in the NW Mediterranean Sea. Furthermore, we investigate the fate of MPs once buried in the sediments by evaluating the changes in the size distribution of the MPs and the weathering status of the polyolefins, polyethylene, and polypropylene. Our results indicate that the MP mass sequestered in the sediment compartment mimics the global plastic production from 1965 to 2016. We observed an increase in the weathering status of the polyolefins as the size decreased. However, the variability in the size and weathering status of the MPs throughout the sedimentary record indicated that these pollutants, once incorporated into sediments, remain preserved with no further degradation under conditions lacking remobilization. Microplastics sequestered into undisturbed marine sediments remain preserved with no signal of further degradation over time.
Grants:	Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades CEX2019-000940-M Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2018/FI_B 00918 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2017/SGR-1588
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Microplastics ; Sediments ; Weathering ; Carbonyl index ; Accumulation
Published in:	Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 56, Issue 23 (December 2022) , p. 16780-16788, ISSN 1520-5851

DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c04264
PMID: 36375087

9 p, 4.9 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles