Presence of nanoplastics in rural and remote surface waters

It is now established that microplastics are a pervasive presence in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The same is assumed to be true for nanoplastics but data are lacking due to technical difficulties associated with sample analysis. Here, we measured nanoplastics in waterbodies at two contrastin...

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Main Authors: Dušan Materić, Mike Peacock, Joshua Dean, Martyn Futter, Trofim Maximov, Filip Moldan, Thomas Röckmann, Rupert Holzinger
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2022-01-01
Series:Environmental Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac68f7
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author Dušan Materić
Mike Peacock
Joshua Dean
Martyn Futter
Trofim Maximov
Filip Moldan
Thomas Röckmann
Rupert Holzinger
author_facet Dušan Materić
Mike Peacock
Joshua Dean
Martyn Futter
Trofim Maximov
Filip Moldan
Thomas Röckmann
Rupert Holzinger
author_sort Dušan Materić
collection DOAJ
description It is now established that microplastics are a pervasive presence in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The same is assumed to be true for nanoplastics but data are lacking due to technical difficulties associated with sample analysis. Here, we measured nanoplastics in waterbodies at two contrasting sites: remote Siberian Arctic tundra and a forest landscape in southern Sweden. Nanoplastics were detected in all sampled Swedish lakes ( n = 7) and streams ( n = 4) (mean concentration = 563 µ g l ^−1 ) and four polymer types were identified (polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate). In Siberia nanoplastics were detected in 7/12 sampled lakes, ponds and surface flooding, but only two polymer types were detected (PVC and polystyrene) and concentrations were lower (mean 51 µ g l ^−1 ). Based on back-calculation of air mass trajectories and particle dispersion, we infer that nanoplastics arrive at both sites by aerial deposition from local and regional sources. Our results suggest that nanoplastics may be a near-ubiquitous presence even in remote ecosystems.
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spelling doaj.art-8cbbf1bd6fc441ebb89c2d0e7b89c2822023-08-09T15:28:04ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262022-01-0117505403610.1088/1748-9326/ac68f7Presence of nanoplastics in rural and remote surface watersDušan Materić0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6454-3456Mike Peacock1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3086-2854Joshua Dean2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9058-7076Martyn Futter3Trofim Maximov4Filip Moldan5Thomas Röckmann6Rupert Holzinger7Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht, Utrecht University , Princetonplein 5, 3584CC Utrecht, The NetherlandsDepartment of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences , Lennart Hjelms väg 9, Uppsala 750 07, SwedenSchool of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol , Bristol, United KingdomDepartment of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences , Lennart Hjelms väg 9, Uppsala 750 07, SwedenInstitute for Biological Problems of the Cryolithozone, Siberian Branch Russian Academy of Sciences , Yakutsk, RussiaIVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute , Box 53021, SE-400 14 Göteborg, SwedenInstitute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht, Utrecht University , Princetonplein 5, 3584CC Utrecht, The NetherlandsInstitute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht, Utrecht University , Princetonplein 5, 3584CC Utrecht, The NetherlandsIt is now established that microplastics are a pervasive presence in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The same is assumed to be true for nanoplastics but data are lacking due to technical difficulties associated with sample analysis. Here, we measured nanoplastics in waterbodies at two contrasting sites: remote Siberian Arctic tundra and a forest landscape in southern Sweden. Nanoplastics were detected in all sampled Swedish lakes ( n = 7) and streams ( n = 4) (mean concentration = 563 µ g l ^−1 ) and four polymer types were identified (polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate). In Siberia nanoplastics were detected in 7/12 sampled lakes, ponds and surface flooding, but only two polymer types were detected (PVC and polystyrene) and concentrations were lower (mean 51 µ g l ^−1 ). Based on back-calculation of air mass trajectories and particle dispersion, we infer that nanoplastics arrive at both sites by aerial deposition from local and regional sources. Our results suggest that nanoplastics may be a near-ubiquitous presence even in remote ecosystems.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac68f7nanoplasticsPTR-MSTD-PTR-MSmicroplastics
spellingShingle Dušan Materić
Mike Peacock
Joshua Dean
Martyn Futter
Trofim Maximov
Filip Moldan
Thomas Röckmann
Rupert Holzinger
Presence of nanoplastics in rural and remote surface waters
Environmental Research Letters
nanoplastics
PTR-MS
TD-PTR-MS
microplastics
title Presence of nanoplastics in rural and remote surface waters
title_full Presence of nanoplastics in rural and remote surface waters
title_fullStr Presence of nanoplastics in rural and remote surface waters
title_full_unstemmed Presence of nanoplastics in rural and remote surface waters
title_short Presence of nanoplastics in rural and remote surface waters
title_sort presence of nanoplastics in rural and remote surface waters
topic nanoplastics
PTR-MS
TD-PTR-MS
microplastics
url https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac68f7
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