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Plastic debris in the Laurentian Great Lakes System, North America: Analysis of types, abundances, and sources
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Researchers conducted the first systematic analysis of all sizes and types of plastic debris across all five of the Laurentian Great Lakes. They found that plastic pollution is widespread, with urban areas, shoreline recreation, and nearby industries as the primary sources.
Understanding plastic pollution in the Laurentian Great Lakes system requires investigation of all plastic debris sizes and categories. Visible polymeric debris (VPD) mainly characterize shorelines, and microplastics (MPs;mm) are found in benthic and beach sediment. Field sampling of VPD from all five Great Lakes, visual and chemical identification of VPD types, and implementation of a matrix scoring technique (MST) indicate that plastic industries, urban areas, and shoreline recreation are major sources of VPD. Sampling for MPs in the St. Clair system, followed by preliminary density separation, and microscopy, suggest that wastewater treatment plants are a major source. This work is the first freshwater study to use an MST and the largest published lacustrine VPD study. The results should encourage industry, policy makers, and the general public to work towards a circular economy.
More Papers Like This
Plastic debris in the Laurentian Great Lakes: Classification, distribution and environmental drivers
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This paper classifies and reviews plastic debris pollution in the Laurentian Great Lakes, documenting contamination across open water, shoreline, and bottom sediment environments and discussing the long-term ecological and economic consequences. The review calls for coordinated plans to reduce plastic pollution entering this massive freshwater system.
Microplastic pollution in the surface waters of the Laurentian Great Lakes
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Researchers documented microplastic pollution across the surface waters of the Laurentian Great Lakes, finding contamination in all lakes sampled — particularly Lake Erie — with fibers as the dominant particle type, highlighting plastic pollution in a critical freshwater system.
Plastic debris in the Laurentian Great Lakes: A review
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This review synthesized available data on plastic debris in the Laurentian Great Lakes, including both surface water surveys and shoreline monitoring, finding levels comparable to those in oceanic garbage patches in some areas. The review highlighted the Great Lakes as a significant freshwater plastic pollution hotspot requiring targeted research and management.
Categorization of plastic debris on sixty-six beaches of the Laurentian Great Lakes, North America
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Researchers categorized 21,592 plastic debris items from 66 beaches across the Laurentian Great Lakes and found that pre-production plastic pellets dominated at 58% of total items, with the highest densities exceeding 800 items/m2 at beaches near industrial areas in Ontario, Canada.
Distribution, Abundance, and Spatial Variability of Microplastic Pollution in Surface Waters of Lake Superior
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Microplastic pollution was surveyed across the surface waters of Lake Superior, providing the first systematic spatial distribution data for the largest of the Laurentian Great Lakes. The study found microplastics throughout the lake and identified patterns of accumulation relevant to understanding how plastics enter and distribute in large freshwater systems.
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.