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Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence.
Environmental Sources
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Microplastic pollution in the surface waters of Italian Subalpine Lakes
Environmental Pollution2018
368 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 45
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Loris Pietrelli,
Loris Pietrelli,
Loris Pietrelli,
Lucia Coscia,
Stefania Di Vito
Lucia Coscia,
Stefania Di Vito,
Maria Sighicelli,
Maria Sighicelli,
Valentina Iannilli,
Loris Pietrelli,
Valentina Iannilli,
Valentina Iannilli,
Valentina Iannilli,
Loris Pietrelli,
Maria Sighicelli,
Loris Pietrelli,
Valentina Iannilli,
Loris Pietrelli,
Valentina Iannilli,
Maria Sighicelli,
Loris Pietrelli,
Maria Sighicelli,
Maria Sighicelli,
Loris Pietrelli,
Valentina Iannilli,
Stefania Di Vito,
Stefania Di Vito,
Giorgio Zampetti,
Stefania Di Vito
Stefania Di Vito
Giorgio Zampetti,
Valentina Iannilli,
Stefania Di Vito
Valentina Iannilli,
Stefania Di Vito
Stefania Di Vito
Francesca Lecce,
Francesca Lecce,
Francesca Lecce,
Stefania Di Vito,
Francesca Lecce,
Stefania Di Vito,
Valentina Iannilli,
Stefania Di Vito,
Stefania Di Vito,
Valentina Iannilli,
Loris Pietrelli,
Valentina Iannilli,
Maria Sighicelli,
Maria Sighicelli,
Maria Sighicelli,
Loris Pietrelli,
Francesca Lecce,
Francesca Lecce,
Francesca Lecce,
Francesca Lecce,
Valentina Iannilli,
Loris Pietrelli,
Loris Pietrelli,
Francesca Lecce,
Loris Pietrelli,
Francesca Lecce,
Maria Sighicelli,
Maria Sighicelli,
Maria Sighicelli,
Maria Sighicelli,
Valentina Iannilli,
Valentina Iannilli,
Loris Pietrelli,
Francesca Lecce,
Valentina Iannilli,
Loris Pietrelli,
Simone Nuglio,
Lucia Coscia,
Francesca Lecce,
Francesca Lecce,
Francesca Lecce,
Simone Nuglio,
Stefania Di Vito,
Maria Sighicelli,
Francesca Lecce,
Francesca Lecce,
Stefania Di Vito,
Maria Sighicelli,
Stefania Di Vito
Stefania Di Vito
M. Falconieri,
Loris Pietrelli,
Maria Sighicelli,
M. Falconieri,
Giorgio Zampetti,
Loris Pietrelli,
Lucia Coscia,
Loris Pietrelli,
Lucia Coscia,
Giorgio Zampetti,
Simone Nuglio,
Giorgio Zampetti,
Simone Nuglio,
Giorgio Zampetti,
Stefania Di Vito,
Stefania Di Vito,
Francesca Lecce,
Stefania Di Vito
Stefania Di Vito
Francesca Lecce,
Simone Nuglio,
Simone Nuglio,
Loris Pietrelli,
Loris Pietrelli,
Giorgio Zampetti,
Loris Pietrelli,
Giorgio Zampetti,
Giorgio Zampetti,
Giorgio Zampetti,
Stefania Di Vito,
Stefania Di Vito
Stefania Di Vito,
Stefania Di Vito
Summary
Surface water samples from Italian subalpine lakes were found to contain microplastics, including fibers and fragments, at concentrations suggesting atmospheric deposition and local tourism as contributing sources. The study extends microplastic monitoring to high-altitude freshwater lakes, showing that even remote mountain water bodies are affected by plastic pollution.
Plastic debris incidence in marine environment was already highlighted in the early 1970s. Over the last decade, microplastic pollution in the environment has received increasing attention and is now an emerging research area. Many studies have focused on quantifying microplastic abundance in the marine environment, while there are relatively few data on microplastic occurrence in freshwater environment. Recent studies have reported high concentrations of microplastics in lakes and rivers, although the understanding of several factors influencing source, transport and fate is still limited. This study compares different lakes and the common factors, which could influence the occurrence and distribution of microplastics. The three subalpine lakes monitored include Lake Maggiore, Iseo and Garda. The selected sampling transects reflect the hydrologic conditions, the morphometric characteristics of these lakes, and other factors influencing the release of plastics debris in lakes. Particles of microplastics (<5 mm) were found in all sampled surfaces. The particles collected were classified depending on their number, shape and composition. The shape distribution showed the dominating occurrence of fragments (73.7%). The chemical composition of all examined samples clearly shows dominating presence of polyethylene (45%), polystyrene (18%) and polypropylene (15%). The results provide significant relations among the different contribution of direct and diffuse sources to the quantity of microplastics, highlighting the importance of understanding the spatial distribution dynamics of microplastics within a lake system that acts as a sink and source of plastic particles.