We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Trapping of floating MP in estuaries, the importance of flocculation
AI summary Read the abstract
Laboratory experiments showed that when microplastics enter estuaries and encounter salt water, they can become entangled in flocs — aggregates of organic particles and sediment — causing them to sink and be trapped in estuarine sediments rather than reaching the open ocean. This flocculation process in estuaries may represent a major, previously underestimated sink for river-borne microplastics. Understanding this trapping mechanism is important for accurately predicting how much plastic actually makes it from rivers to the sea.
Rivers and estuaries are major pathways of microplastic (MP) from terrestrial areas to marine ecosystems. Despite this, knowledge on the transport dynamics and fate of MPs in riverine and estuarine waters is limited, but crucial in order to mitigate the problem and to close the mass balance of plastic debris in the oceans. Via ex situ laboratory settling experiments emulating the Msimbazi River and estuary, Dar es-Salaam, Tanzania, we demonstrate that flocculation and subsequent settling of positively buoyant MP (HDPE, 63-125 µm) and fine-grained suspended sediment ( Also see: https://micro2022.sciencesconf.org/426923/document
More Papers Like This
Settling of buoyant microplastic in estuaries: The importance of flocculation
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers demonstrated that flocculation causes buoyant microplastics to settle 5-21 times faster in estuarine waters than in freshwater, supporting the concept that estuaries act as traps that reduce the overall microplastic load reaching the open ocean.
The Estuary as a Natural Water Treatment Plant for Microplastics
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers investigated whether estuaries naturally remove microplastics from water through flocculation — the process by which fine particles clump together and sink. Laboratory experiments showed that microplastics efficiently incorporated into flocs depending on their size, shape, and surface chemistry, reducing the load of microplastics passing through estuaries into open sea. Estuaries may act as natural filters for microplastic pollution, but this also concentrates them in estuarine sediments.
Controls of bio-modulated flocculation on the fate of microplastic pollution in river-estuary transition zones
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers investigated how biological flocculation — the aggregation of microplastics with organic matter driven by biological processes — affects the fate of microplastic pollution in river-estuary transition zones. The study found that bio-modulated flocculation significantly increases the sinking of otherwise buoyant microplastics, representing an important removal mechanism from surface waters in estuarine environments.
Rapid flocculation and settling of positively buoyant microplastic and fine-grained sediment in natural seawater
AI summary Read the abstract
Laboratory experiments showed that positively buoyant microplastics rapidly flocculated with fine-grained sediment in natural seawater, causing particles that would otherwise float to sink quickly. The finding has important implications for predicting microplastic fate in estuaries, where plastic-sediment aggregates may settle to the seafloor rather than dispersing.
Flocculation of microplastic and cohesive sediment in natural seawater
AI summary Read the abstract
Laboratory experiments investigated whether microplastic particles flocculate with natural cohesive sediment in unfiltered seawater, testing the hypothesis that flocculation could cause microplastics to sink and accumulate in estuarine and marine sediments. The results have implications for understanding the fate and transport of microplastics in coastal environments.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.