Storm response of fluvial sedimentary microplastics
Storm response of fluvial sedimentary microplastics
Up to 80% of the plastics in the oceans are believed to have been transferred from river networks. Microplastic contamination of river sediments has been found to be pervasive at the global scale and responsive to periods of flooding. However, the physical controls governing the storage, remobilization and pathways of transfer in fluvial sediments are unknown. This means it is not currently possible to determine the risks posed by microplastics retained within the world’s river systems. This problem will be further exacerbated in the future given projected changes to global flood risk and an increased likelihood of fluvial flooding. Using controlled flume experiments we show that the evolution of the sediment bed surface and the flood wave characteristics controls the transition from rivers being ‘sinks’ to ‘sources’ of microplastics under flood conditions. By linking bed surface evolution with microplastic transport characteristics we show that similarities exist between granular transport phenomena and the behavior, and hence predictability, of microplastic entrainment during floods. Our findings are significant as they suggest that microplastic release from sediment beds can be managed by altering the timing and magnitude of releases in flow managed systems. As such it may be possible to remediate or remove legacy microplastics in future.
Ockelford, Annie
e37f4ae6-dee0-4644-a313-019411cbb174
Cundy, Andy
994fdc96-2dce-40f4-b74b-dc638286eb08
Ebdon, James E.
78d36597-6f28-4042-a29e-c40112cf9836
1 December 2020
Ockelford, Annie
e37f4ae6-dee0-4644-a313-019411cbb174
Cundy, Andy
994fdc96-2dce-40f4-b74b-dc638286eb08
Ebdon, James E.
78d36597-6f28-4042-a29e-c40112cf9836
Ockelford, Annie, Cundy, Andy and Ebdon, James E.
(2020)
Storm response of fluvial sedimentary microplastics.
Scientific Reports, 10 (1), [1865].
(doi:10.1038/s41598-020-58765-2).
Abstract
Up to 80% of the plastics in the oceans are believed to have been transferred from river networks. Microplastic contamination of river sediments has been found to be pervasive at the global scale and responsive to periods of flooding. However, the physical controls governing the storage, remobilization and pathways of transfer in fluvial sediments are unknown. This means it is not currently possible to determine the risks posed by microplastics retained within the world’s river systems. This problem will be further exacerbated in the future given projected changes to global flood risk and an increased likelihood of fluvial flooding. Using controlled flume experiments we show that the evolution of the sediment bed surface and the flood wave characteristics controls the transition from rivers being ‘sinks’ to ‘sources’ of microplastics under flood conditions. By linking bed surface evolution with microplastic transport characteristics we show that similarities exist between granular transport phenomena and the behavior, and hence predictability, of microplastic entrainment during floods. Our findings are significant as they suggest that microplastic release from sediment beds can be managed by altering the timing and magnitude of releases in flow managed systems. As such it may be possible to remediate or remove legacy microplastics in future.
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Ockelford_et_al_Sci_Rep_2020
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Accepted/In Press date: 17 January 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 5 February 2020
Published date: 1 December 2020
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Funding Information:
This research was funded by a University of Brighton School of Environment and Technology Research Infrastructure grant held by Ockelford. The work was undertaken with the Department of Geography, Loughborough University and the authors sincerely thank the technical staff for their assistance in this research. The authors would like to thank the detailed reviewers comments received on the first draft of this paper which have strengthened the paper greatly.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, The Author(s).
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Local EPrints ID: 437960
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/437960
ISSN: 2045-2322
PURE UUID: 46016f78-2c76-483d-9aca-ecc29e5c63f3
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Date deposited: 24 Feb 2020 17:31
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:38
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Author:
Annie Ockelford
Author:
James E. Ebdon
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