Learning from natural sediments to tackle microplastics challenges: A multidisciplinary perspective
Earth-Science Reviews, vol. 228, pp. 104021
Abstract
Although the study of microplastics in the aquatic environment incorporates a diversity of research fields, it is still in its infancy in many aspects while comparable topics have been studied in other disciplines for decades. In particular, extensive research in sedimentology can provide valuable insights to guide future microplastics research. To advance our understanding of the comparability of natural sediments with microplastics, we take an interdisciplinary look at the existing literature describing particle properties, transport processes, sampling techniques and ecotoxicology. Based on our analysis, we define seven research goals that are essential to improve our understanding of microplastics and can be tackled by learning from natural sediment research, and identify relevant tasks to achieve each goal. These goals address (1) the description of microplastic particles, (2) the interaction of microplastics with environmental substances, (3) the vertical distribution of microplastics, (4) the erosion and deposition behaviour of microplastics, (5) the impact of biota on microplastic transport, (6) the sampling methods and (7) the microplastic toxicity. When describing microplastic particles, we should specifically draw from the knowledge of natural sediments, for example by using shape factors or applying methods for determining the principal dimensions of non-spherical particles. Sediment transport offers many fundamentals that are transferable to microplastic transport, and could be usefully applied. However, major knowledge gaps still exist in understanding the role of transport modes, the influence of biota on microplastic transport, and the importance and implementation of the dynamic behaviour of microplastics as a result of time-dependent changes in particle properties in numerical models. We give an overview of available sampling methods from sedimentology and discuss their suitability for microplastic sampling, which can be used for creating standardised guidelines for future application with microplastics. In order to comprehensively assess the ecotoxicology of microplastics, a distinction must be made between the effects of the polymers themselves, their physical form, the plastic-associated chemicals and the attached pollutants. This review highlights areas where we can rely on understanding and techniques from sediment research - and areas where we need new, microplastic-specific knowledge - and synthesize recommendations to guide future, interdisciplinary microplastic research.
Authors 25
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Kryss Waldschläger corresponding
Wageningen University & Research
Affiliation as printed
Hydrology and Quantitative Water Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
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Affiliation as printed
School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK
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Affiliation as printed
Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Canada
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, Canada
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University of California, Riverside
Affiliation as printed
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, United States of America
Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution Research, United States of America
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
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University of California, Riverside
Affiliation as printed
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, United States of America
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
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Wageningen University & Research
Affiliation as printed
Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
UNSW Canberra, School of Engineering and Information Technology (SEIT), Canberra, ACT 2610, Australia
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Simone Lechthaler Aachen Institute of Environmental Engineering Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resource Management
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Environmental Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Germany
Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resource Management, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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Affiliation as printed
Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Ferry Road, Portsmouth PO4 9LY, UK
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Norwegian University of Science and Technology · SINTEF Ocean
Affiliation as printed
SINTEF Ocean, Trondheim, Norway and Department of Physics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
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Affiliation as printed
Marine School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, PL4 8AA Plymouth, UK
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Affiliation as printed
School of Geography, Geology, and the Environment, University of Leicester, Leicestershire LE1 7RH, UK
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Science and Environment, Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark
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Magyar Agrár- és Élettudományi Egyetem
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Environmental Science, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Godollo 2100, Hungary
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IHE Delft Institute for Water Education
Affiliation as printed
Water Resources and Ecosystems department , IHE Delft Institute for Water Education , Delft , the Netherlands
Water Resources and Ecosystems department, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Delft, the Netherlands
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Institute of Geophysics Polish Academy of Sciences · Polish Academy of Sciences
Affiliation as printed
Department of Hydrology and Hydrodynamics, Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
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Manipal Academy of Higher Education
Affiliation as printed
Centre for Climate Studies / Department of Civil Engineering (Manipal Institute of Technology) , Manipal Academy of Higher Education , Manipal 576104 , Karnataka , India
Centre for Climate Studies/Department of Civil Engineering (Manipal Institute of Technology), Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal 576104, Karnataka, India
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Roskilde University · Deakin University · University of Oxford · Wageningen University & Research
Affiliation as printed
Department of Zoology , University of Oxford , Oxford , OX1 3SZ , UK
Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia
Hydrology and Quantitative Water Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 6708 PB Wage-ningen, Netherlands
Roskilde University
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Queen Mary University of London
Affiliation as printed
School of Geography , Queen Mary University of London , Mile End Road , London E1 4NS , UK
School of Geography, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
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