Learning from natural sediments to tackle microplastics challenges: A multidisciplinary perspective
Kryss Waldschläger, Muriel Z.M. Brückner, Bethanie Carney Almroth, Christopher R. Hackney, Tanveer Mehedi Adyel, Olubukola S. Alimi, Sara Lynn Belontz, Win Cowger, Darragh Doyle, Andrew Gray, Ian Kane, Merel Kooi, Matthias Kramer, Simone Lechthaler, Laura Michie, Tor Nordam, Florian Pohl, Catherine Russell, Amalie Thit, Wajid UmarDaniel Valero, Arianna Varrani, Anish Kumar Warrier, Lucy C. Woodall, Nan Wu
Department of Civil Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal
Although the study of microplastics in the aquatic environment incorporates a diversity of research fields, it is still in its infancy in many aspects while comparable topics have been studied in other disciplines for decades. In particular, extensive research in sedimentology can provide valuable insights to guide future microplastics research. To advance our understanding of the comparability of natural sediments with microplastics, we take an interdisciplinary look at the existing literature describing particle properties, transport processes, sampling techniques and ecotoxicology. Based on our analysis, we define seven research goals that are essential to improve our understanding of microplastics and can be tackled by learning from natural sediment research, and identify relevant tasks to achieve each goal. These goals address (1) the description of microplastic particles, (2) the interaction of microplastics with environmental substances, (3) the vertical distribution of microplastics, (4) the erosion and deposition behaviour of microplastics, (5) the impact of biota on microplastic transport, (6) the sampling methods and (7) the microplastic toxicity. When describing microplastic particles, we should specifically draw from the knowledge of natural sediments, for example by using shape factors or applying methods for determining the principal dimensions of non-spherical particles. Sediment transport offers many fundamentals that are transferable to microplastic transport, and could be usefully applied. However, major knowledge gaps still exist in understanding the role of transport modes, the influence of biota on microplastic transport, and the importance and implementation of the dynamic behaviour of microplastics as a result of time-dependent changes in particle properties in numerical models. We give an overview of available sampling methods from sedimentology and discuss their suitability for microplastic sampling, which can be used for creating standardised guidelines for future application with microplastics. In order to comprehensively assess the ecotoxicology of microplastics, a distinction must be made between the effects of the polymers themselves, their physical form, the plastic-associated chemicals and the attached pollutants. This review highlights areas where we can rely on understanding and techniques from sediment research - and areas where we need new, microplastic-specific knowledge - and synthesize recommendations to guide future, interdisciplinary microplastic research.
Earth-Science Reviews
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.104021
10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.104021
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learning Earth & Environmental Sciences 100%
sediment Earth & Environmental Sciences 58%
ecotoxicology Earth & Environmental Sciences 53%
particle Earth & Environmental Sciences 50%
sedimentology Earth & Environmental Sciences 44%
biota Earth & Environmental Sciences 37%
sampling Earth & Environmental Sciences 34%
interdisciplinary research Earth & Environmental Sciences 25%
Waldschläger, K., Brückner, M. Z. M., Carney Almroth, B., Hackney, C. R., Adyel, T. M., Alimi, O. S., Belontz, S. L., Cowger, W., Doyle, D., Gray, A., Kane, I., Kooi, M., Kramer, M., Lechthaler, S., Michie, L., Nordam, T., Pohl, F., Russell, C., Thit, A., ... Wu, N. (2022). Learning from natural sediments to tackle microplastics challenges: A multidisciplinary perspective. Earth-Science Reviews, 228, [104021]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.104021
Waldschläger, Kryss ; Brückner, Muriel Z.M. ; Carney Almroth, Bethanie et al. / Learning from natural sediments to tackle microplastics challenges : A multidisciplinary perspective. In: Earth-Science Reviews. 2022 ; Vol. 228.
@article{10e68c90384c4da5b80b1ff4eb471b82,
title = "Learning from natural sediments to tackle microplastics challenges: A multidisciplinary perspective",
abstract = "Although the study of microplastics in the aquatic environment incorporates a diversity of research fields, it is still in its infancy in many aspects while comparable topics have been studied in other disciplines for decades. In particular, extensive research in sedimentology can provide valuable insights to guide future microplastics research. To advance our understanding of the comparability of natural sediments with microplastics, we take an interdisciplinary look at the existing literature describing particle properties, transport processes, sampling techniques and ecotoxicology. Based on our analysis, we define seven research goals that are essential to improve our understanding of microplastics and can be tackled by learning from natural sediment research, and identify relevant tasks to achieve each goal. These goals address (1) the description of microplastic particles, (2) the interaction of microplastics with environmental substances, (3) the vertical distribution of microplastics, (4) the erosion and deposition behaviour of microplastics, (5) the impact of biota on microplastic transport, (6) the sampling methods and (7) the microplastic toxicity. When describing microplastic particles, we should specifically draw from the knowledge of natural sediments, for example by using shape factors or applying methods for determining the principal dimensions of non-spherical particles. Sediment transport offers many fundamentals that are transferable to microplastic transport, and could be usefully applied. However, major knowledge gaps still exist in understanding the role of transport modes, the influence of biota on microplastic transport, and the importance and implementation of the dynamic behaviour of microplastics as a result of time-dependent changes in particle properties in numerical models. We give an overview of available sampling methods from sedimentology and discuss their suitability for microplastic sampling, which can be used for creating standardised guidelines for future application with microplastics. In order to comprehensively assess the ecotoxicology of microplastics, a distinction must be made between the effects of the polymers themselves, their physical form, the plastic-associated chemicals and the attached pollutants. This review highlights areas where we can rely on understanding and techniques from sediment research - and areas where we need new, microplastic-specific knowledge - and synthesize recommendations to guide future, interdisciplinary microplastic research.",
author = "Kryss Waldschl{\"a}ger and Br{\"u}ckner, {Muriel Z.M.} and {Carney Almroth}, Bethanie and Hackney, {Christopher R.} and Adyel, {Tanveer Mehedi} and Alimi, {Olubukola S.} and Belontz, {Sara Lynn} and Win Cowger and Darragh Doyle and Andrew Gray and Ian Kane and Merel Kooi and Matthias Kramer and Simone Lechthaler and Laura Michie and Tor Nordam and Florian Pohl and Catherine Russell and Amalie Thit and Wajid Umar and Daniel Valero and Arianna Varrani and Warrier, {Anish Kumar} and Woodall, {Lucy C.} and Nan Wu",
note = "Funding Information: The work of KW is supported by the Investment Plan for strengthening the Technical Sciences at Wageningen University . BCA is supported by the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development FORMAS ( 2016-00895 ). TMA is supported by Deakin University under the Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellowship and ECR Enabler grant . WC is supported by the University of California Riverside and the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship . DD received financial support from Carl Tryggers Stiftelse No. 1961. AT received funding from Villum foundation [NanoTransfer grant 00010592 ]. WU is supported by the Tempus Public Foundation (TPF) under the programme Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship by the Ministry of Human Capacities of Hungary . AV was supported by a subsidy from the Polish Ministry of Education and Science for the Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences. AKW received financial support from the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research , Ministry of Earth Sciences (Sanction: NCPOR/2019/PACER-POP/ES-02 dated 05/07/2019) under the PACER Outreach Programme. LCW is supported by a grant from the Nekton Foundation . CRH is supported by a Newcastle University NUACT fellowship and National Geographic grant NGS-56269R-19 . Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 The Author(s)",
doi = "10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.104021",
journal = "Earth-Science Reviews",
Waldschläger, K, Brückner, MZM, Carney Almroth, B, Hackney, CR, Adyel, TM, Alimi, OS, Belontz, SL, Cowger, W, Doyle, D, Gray, A, Kane, I, Kooi, M, Kramer, M, Lechthaler, S, Michie, L, Nordam, T, Pohl, F, Russell, C, Thit, A, Umar, W, Valero, D, Varrani, A, Warrier, AK, Woodall, LC & Wu, N 2022, 'Learning from natural sediments to tackle microplastics challenges: A multidisciplinary perspective', Earth-Science Reviews, vol. 228, 104021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.104021
Learning from natural sediments to tackle microplastics challenges : A multidisciplinary perspective. / Waldschläger, Kryss; Brückner, Muriel Z.M.; Carney Almroth, Bethanie et al.
In: Earth-Science Reviews, Vol. 228, 104021, 05.2022.
T1 - Learning from natural sediments to tackle microplastics challenges
T2 - A multidisciplinary perspective
AU - Waldschläger, Kryss
AU - Brückner, Muriel Z.M.
AU - Carney Almroth, Bethanie
AU - Hackney, Christopher R.
AU - Adyel, Tanveer Mehedi
AU - Alimi, Olubukola S.
AU - Belontz, Sara Lynn
AU - Cowger, Win
AU - Doyle, Darragh
AU - Gray, Andrew
AU - Kane, Ian
AU - Kooi, Merel
AU - Kramer, Matthias
AU - Lechthaler, Simone
AU - Michie, Laura
AU - Nordam, Tor
AU - Pohl, Florian
AU - Russell, Catherine
AU - Thit, Amalie
AU - Umar, Wajid
AU - Valero, Daniel
AU - Varrani, Arianna
AU - Warrier, Anish Kumar
AU - Woodall, Lucy C.
AU - Wu, Nan
N1 - Funding Information: The work of KW is supported by the Investment Plan for strengthening the Technical Sciences at Wageningen University . BCA is supported by the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development FORMAS ( 2016-00895 ). TMA is supported by Deakin University under the Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellowship and ECR Enabler grant . WC is supported by the University of California Riverside and the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship . DD received financial support from Carl Tryggers Stiftelse No. 1961. AT received funding from Villum foundation [NanoTransfer grant 00010592 ]. WU is supported by the Tempus Public Foundation (TPF) under the programme Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship by the Ministry of Human Capacities of Hungary . AV was supported by a subsidy from the Polish Ministry of Education and Science for the Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences. AKW received financial support from the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research , Ministry of Earth Sciences (Sanction: NCPOR/2019/PACER-POP/ES-02 dated 05/07/2019) under the PACER Outreach Programme. LCW is supported by a grant from the Nekton Foundation . CRH is supported by a Newcastle University NUACT fellowship and National Geographic grant NGS-56269R-19 . Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s)
N2 - Although the study of microplastics in the aquatic environment incorporates a diversity of research fields, it is still in its infancy in many aspects while comparable topics have been studied in other disciplines for decades. In particular, extensive research in sedimentology can provide valuable insights to guide future microplastics research. To advance our understanding of the comparability of natural sediments with microplastics, we take an interdisciplinary look at the existing literature describing particle properties, transport processes, sampling techniques and ecotoxicology. Based on our analysis, we define seven research goals that are essential to improve our understanding of microplastics and can be tackled by learning from natural sediment research, and identify relevant tasks to achieve each goal. These goals address (1) the description of microplastic particles, (2) the interaction of microplastics with environmental substances, (3) the vertical distribution of microplastics, (4) the erosion and deposition behaviour of microplastics, (5) the impact of biota on microplastic transport, (6) the sampling methods and (7) the microplastic toxicity. When describing microplastic particles, we should specifically draw from the knowledge of natural sediments, for example by using shape factors or applying methods for determining the principal dimensions of non-spherical particles. Sediment transport offers many fundamentals that are transferable to microplastic transport, and could be usefully applied. However, major knowledge gaps still exist in understanding the role of transport modes, the influence of biota on microplastic transport, and the importance and implementation of the dynamic behaviour of microplastics as a result of time-dependent changes in particle properties in numerical models. We give an overview of available sampling methods from sedimentology and discuss their suitability for microplastic sampling, which can be used for creating standardised guidelines for future application with microplastics. In order to comprehensively assess the ecotoxicology of microplastics, a distinction must be made between the effects of the polymers themselves, their physical form, the plastic-associated chemicals and the attached pollutants. This review highlights areas where we can rely on understanding and techniques from sediment research - and areas where we need new, microplastic-specific knowledge - and synthesize recommendations to guide future, interdisciplinary microplastic research.
AB - Although the study of microplastics in the aquatic environment incorporates a diversity of research fields, it is still in its infancy in many aspects while comparable topics have been studied in other disciplines for decades. In particular, extensive research in sedimentology can provide valuable insights to guide future microplastics research. To advance our understanding of the comparability of natural sediments with microplastics, we take an interdisciplinary look at the existing literature describing particle properties, transport processes, sampling techniques and ecotoxicology. Based on our analysis, we define seven research goals that are essential to improve our understanding of microplastics and can be tackled by learning from natural sediment research, and identify relevant tasks to achieve each goal. These goals address (1) the description of microplastic particles, (2) the interaction of microplastics with environmental substances, (3) the vertical distribution of microplastics, (4) the erosion and deposition behaviour of microplastics, (5) the impact of biota on microplastic transport, (6) the sampling methods and (7) the microplastic toxicity. When describing microplastic particles, we should specifically draw from the knowledge of natural sediments, for example by using shape factors or applying methods for determining the principal dimensions of non-spherical particles. Sediment transport offers many fundamentals that are transferable to microplastic transport, and could be usefully applied. However, major knowledge gaps still exist in understanding the role of transport modes, the influence of biota on microplastic transport, and the importance and implementation of the dynamic behaviour of microplastics as a result of time-dependent changes in particle properties in numerical models. We give an overview of available sampling methods from sedimentology and discuss their suitability for microplastic sampling, which can be used for creating standardised guidelines for future application with microplastics. In order to comprehensively assess the ecotoxicology of microplastics, a distinction must be made between the effects of the polymers themselves, their physical form, the plastic-associated chemicals and the attached pollutants. This review highlights areas where we can rely on understanding and techniques from sediment research - and areas where we need new, microplastic-specific knowledge - and synthesize recommendations to guide future, interdisciplinary microplastic research.
U2 - 10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.104021
DO - 10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.104021
JO - Earth-Science Reviews
JF - Earth-Science Reviews
Waldschläger K, Brückner MZM, Carney Almroth B, Hackney CR, Adyel TM, Alimi OS et al. Learning from natural sediments to tackle microplastics challenges: A multidisciplinary perspective. Earth-Science Reviews. 2022 May;228:104021. doi: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.104021