Biomaterial Database

Microplastic content variation in water column: The observations employing a novel sampling tool in stratified Baltic Sea. 2019

M B Zobkov, and E E Esiukova, and A Y Zyubin, and I G Samusev

Northern Water Problems Institute of Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 50 A.Nevskogo prospekt Petrozavodsk, Karelia 185030, Russia. Electronic address: duet@onego.ru.

A new tool was developed for microplastics (MPs) investigation in the water column. It can collect several cubic meters of water from predefined water layers down to 100 m. The tool was tested in the Baltic Sea during the period of spring thermocline formation. Strong MPs stratification was observed at all of the sampled stations. On coastal stations (~30 m deep), stratification with high fibers content was associated with the proximity of terrestrial sources and estuarine discharges, while on off-shore stations the variability of MPs was related to vertical thermohaline structure. Mean MPs content was the 32.2 (SD 50.4) pcs/m3. Elevated MPs concentrations were observed in subsurface, near-bottom and thermohaline layers compared with intermediate layers. The heterogeneity of MPs distribution suggests that MPs particles can be retained above the density-gradient layers in coastal seas and the World Ocean.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009792	Oceans and Seas	A great expanse of continuous bodies of salt water which together cover more than 70 percent of the earth's surface. Seas may be partially or entirely enclosed by land, and are smaller than the five oceans (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic).	Seas,Oceans,Seas and Oceans
D010969	Plastics	Polymeric materials (usually organic) of large molecular weight which can be shaped by flow. Plastic usually refers to the final product with fillers, plasticizers, pigments, and stabilizers included (versus the resin, the homogeneous polymeric starting material). (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)	Plastic
D004784	Environmental Monitoring	The monitoring of the level of toxins, chemical pollutants, microbial contaminants, or other harmful substances in the environment (soil, air, and water), workplace, or in the bodies of people and animals present in that environment.	Monitoring, Environmental,Environmental Surveillance,Surveillance, Environmental
D004867	Equipment Design	Methods and patterns of fabricating machines and related hardware.	Design, Equipment,Device Design,Medical Device Design,Design, Medical Device,Designs, Medical Device,Device Design, Medical,Device Designs, Medical,Medical Device Designs,Design, Device,Designs, Device,Designs, Equipment,Device Designs,Equipment Designs
D012623	Seawater	The salinated water of OCEANS AND SEAS that provides habitat for marine organisms.	Sea Water,Sea Waters,Seawaters,Water, Sea,Waters, Sea
D014874	Water Pollutants, Chemical	Chemical compounds which pollute the water of rivers, streams, lakes, the sea, reservoirs, or other bodies of water.	Chemical Water Pollutants,Landfill Leachate,Leachate, Landfill,Pollutants, Chemical Water