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A density separation method for microplastics implemented to varved sediments of Lake Kallavesi, eastern Finland
Summary
This thesis developed and tested an improved density separation method to isolate microplastics from lake sediment cores, then applied it to a dated sediment archive from Lake Kallavesi in Finland. The method and sediment core data allow tracking of how microplastic pollution in Finnish lakes has changed over time.
Microplastics are environmentally persistent pollutants ubiquitous in the aquatic environment. Compared to marine environments, the abundance of microplastics in freshwater environments is less studied. The thesis introduces an improved density separation method to isolate microplastics from loose sediment samples. Identification of the found particles was performed by imaging FTIR microspectroscopy combined with MPHunter software. In this study, the method was tested and linked to field results. A freeze core was taken from Maljalahti Bay, Lake Kallavesi, Eastern Finland. Freeze core captures microplastics in an in-situ sediment profile, and the core was dated with varve chronology. Microplastics analysed from the sediment of Maljalahti reflected the anthropogenic changes in the lake catchment. According to this study, the amount and variability of microplastics are positively connected to human activities such as the construction work started in the immediate catchment of Maljalahti Bay.