dc.contributor.author | Anderson, Zachary T. | |
dc.contributor.author | Cundy, Andrew B. | |
dc.contributor.author | Croudace, Ian W. | |
dc.contributor.author | Warwick, Phillip E. | |
dc.contributor.author | Celis-Hernandez, Omar | |
dc.contributor.author | Stead, Jessica L. | |
dc.coverage.spatial | R. Hamble Estuary | en_US |
dc.coverage.spatial | R. Beaulieu Estuary | en_US |
dc.date.accessioned | 2020-02-07T15:38:21Z | |
dc.date.available | 2020-02-07T15:38:21Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2018 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Anderson, Z.T.; Cundy, A.B.; Croudace, I.W.; Warwick, P.E.; Celis-Hernandez, O. and 2 & Stead, J.L. (2018) A rapid method for assessing the accumulation of microplastics in the sea surface microlayer (SML) of estuarine systems. Scientific Reports. 8, 9428. 11pp. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-27612-w | en_US |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11329/1204 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://dx.doi.org/10.25607/OBP-721 | |
dc.description.abstract | Microplastics are an increasingly important contaminant in the marine environment. Depending on
their composition and degree of biofouling, many common microplastics are less dense than seawater
and so tend to float at or near the ocean surface. As such, they may exhibit high concentrations in the
sea surface microlayer (SML – the upper 1–1000 μm of the ocean) relative to deeper water. This paper
examines the accumulation of microplastics, in particular microfibres, in the SML in two contrasting
estuarine systems – the Hamble estuary and the Beaulieu estuary, southern U.K., via a novel and rapid
SML-selective sampling method using a dipped glass plate. Microplastic concentrations (for identified
fibres, of 0.05 to 4.5 mm length) were highest in the SML-selective samples (with a mean concentration
of 43 ± 36 fibres/L), compared to <5 fibres/L for surface and sub-surface bulk water samples. Data
collected show the usefulness of the dipped glass plate method as a rapid and inexpensive tool for
sampling SML-associated microplastics in estuaries, and indicate that microplastics preferentially
accumulate at the SML in estuarine conditions (providing a potential transfer mechanism for
incorporation into upper intertidal sinks). Fibres are present (and readily sampled) in both developed
and more pristine estuarine systems. | en_US |
dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
dc.rights | Attribution 4.0 International | * |
dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | * |
dc.subject.other | Microbeads | en_US |
dc.title | A rapid method for assessing the accumulation of microplastics in the sea surface microlayer (SML) of estuarine systems. | en_US |
dc.type | Journal Contribution | en_US |
dc.description.refereed | Refereed | en_US |
dc.format.pagerange | 11pp. | en_US |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1038/s41598-018-27612-w | |
dc.subject.parameterDiscipline | Parameter Discipline::Environment::Anthropogenic contamination | en_US |
dc.bibliographicCitation.title | Scientific Reports | en_US |
dc.bibliographicCitation.volume | 8 | en_US |
dc.bibliographicCitation.issue | Article 9428 | en_US |
dc.description.sdg | 14 | en_US |
dc.description.bptype | Manual (incl. handbook, guide, cookbook etc) | en_US |
obps.contact.contactname | Andrew B. Cundy | |
obps.contact.contactemail | A.Cundy@noc.soton.ac.uk | |
obps.resourceurl.publisher | https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-27612-w | en_US |