Dynamics of plastic debris and its density change between river compartments in the Tuul River system, Mongolia

Abstract Plastic pollution in river environments has become an emerging global concern. However, the migration of plastic and changes in its properties between river compartments are less understood. This study demonstrates the plastic debris aging and the dynamics between floodplain, surface water, and sediment compartments of the Tuul River, Mongolia. Plastic occurrence is evaluated in terms of their abundance, size, shape, polymer type, and photodegradation in each compartment. Photodegradation stages were calculated using the carbonyl index (CI). Plastic abundance was 5.46 ± 3.53 items/m2 in the floodplain, 155 ± 100.7 items/m3 in the surface water, and 128.4 ± 76.3 items/kg in the sediment. Microplastics dominated in the size category in all compartments, while macro- and megaplastics were found only in the floodplain. Polyethylene and polypropylene dominated the surface water and sediment, while polystyrene was the predominant plastic in the floodplain. A positive correlation was found between the distributed polymer types in the surface water and sediment compartments. The similar composition in size and polymer type suggests vertical plastic migration from water to sediment. Although CI values showed that the plastic aging was significantly different between water and sediment (water: 0.61 ± 0.26, and sediment: 0.90 ± 0.68). The dominance of low-density plastics with high CI in the sediment suggests that the aged plastic density changed during the vertical transport in the river system.