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Baseline analysis of metal(loid)s on microplastics collected from the Australian shoreline using citizen science
Marine Pollution Bulletin2020
76 citations
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Score: 40
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Maddison Carbery,
Palanisami Thavamani
Maddison Carbery,
Palanisami Thavamani
Maddison Carbery,
Maddison Carbery,
Palanisami Thavamani
Maddison Carbery,
Maddison Carbery,
Sania Afrose,
Maddison Carbery,
Maddison Carbery,
Maddison Carbery,
Maddison Carbery,
Sania Afrose,
Geoff R. MacFarlane,
Wayne A. O’Connor,
Maddison Carbery,
Maddison Carbery,
Wayne A. O’Connor,
Wayne A. O’Connor,
Wayne A. O’Connor,
Maddison Carbery,
Maddison Carbery,
Palanisami Thavamani
Maddison Carbery,
Palanisami Thavamani
Geoff R. MacFarlane,
Palanisami Thavamani
Maddison Carbery,
Palanisami Thavamani
Wayne A. O’Connor,
Wayne A. O’Connor,
Wayne A. O’Connor,
Maddison Carbery,
Maddison Carbery,
Geoff R. MacFarlane,
Maddison Carbery,
Geoff R. MacFarlane,
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Maddison Carbery,
Maddison Carbery,
Geoff R. MacFarlane,
Geoff R. MacFarlane,
Palanisami Thavamani
Wayne A. O’Connor,
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Maddison Carbery,
Maddison Carbery,
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Sania Afrose,
Palanisami Thavamani
Sania Afrose,
Heidi Taylor,
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Maddison Carbery,
Maddison Carbery,
Heidi Taylor,
Maddison Carbery,
Maddison Carbery,
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Wayne A. O’Connor,
Geoff R. MacFarlane,
Geoff R. MacFarlane,
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Geoff R. MacFarlane,
Palanisami Thavamani
Geoff R. MacFarlane,
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Geoff R. MacFarlane,
Palanisami Thavamani
Geoff R. MacFarlane,
Maddison Carbery,
Maddison Carbery,
Maddison Carbery,
Maddison Carbery,
Palanisami Thavamani
Summary
Researchers collected microplastics from Australian beach and estuarine environments and performed baseline analysis of associated metal(loid) contaminants, finding that plastics adsorb a range of trace metals depending on polymer type and environmental conditions. The study provides foundational data on metal-microplastic interactions in Australian waters where such information was previously lacking.
Microplastics are an emerging contaminant in aquatic environments. Information on the occurrence and characteristics of microplastics in Australia is limited and their interactions with chemical contaminants have not been addressed. Therefore, the aim of this study was to generate baseline information on the physical and chemical characteristics of microplastics on Australian shorelines to facilitate further detailed risk assessment. Field collected microplastics were categorised by colour, shape and polymer type. Plastic particles were primarily clear, blue, white and green and consisted mainly of fragments (57.80%) and pellets (30.68%). Polymer characterisation revealed that shoreline microplastics were polyethylene (53.17%), polypropylene (35.17%), polystyrene (6.61%) and polyethylene terephthalate (1.85%). Analysis of metal(loid)s found that concentrations of Mn, Cr, Cu, As, Zn and Pb were significantly higher on microplastics associated with industrial locations compared with other land uses, indicating that aged microplastics have the potential to adsorb toxic metals and that metals levels may be location-dependent.