scholarly journals Microplastic in Water and Sediments at the Confluence of the Elbe and Mulde Rivers in Germany

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannes Laermanns ◽  
Georg Reifferscheid ◽  
Jonas Kruse ◽  
Corinna Földi ◽  
Georg Dierkes ◽  
...  

Accumulation of microplastics in aquatic environments is an issue of emerging concern. Initially, research focused on marine systems. However, recent studies also investigate the abundance of microplastics in freshwater environments. Rivers connect terrestrial with marine ecosystems and contribute a considerable share of macro- and microplastics to the oceans. A previous study found a large amount of micro-spheres in Dessau downstream the river mouth of the Mulde. Therefore, the objective of this research was to examine whether the Mulde river with its highly industrialized catchment contributes to the microplastic pollution of the Elbe. Sediment (Van Veen grab sampler) and water samples (filter cascade with the smallest mesh size 50 μm and nets with the smallest mesh size 150 μm) were taken from the Elbe river up- and downstream the confluence with the Mulde. After extensive sample preparation, we examined the samples under a digital microscope and determined polymer types by pyrolysis Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (pyr-GC-MS). The amount of primary microplastics increased in sediment and water samples just downstream the confluence. Those microplastics originate probably from the Mulde. We measured larger amounts and different shapes of microplastics in filter cascades that have a smaller mesh size compared to the nets.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Kruse ◽  
Hannes Laermanns ◽  
Friederike Stock ◽  
Corinna Foeldi ◽  
Dirk Schaefer ◽  
...  

<p>Accumulation of microplastics (MPs) in aquatic environments is an issue of emerging concern. After research initially focused on marine systems, more and more studies have been published investigating the abundance of MPs in freshwater environments in recent years.</p><p>The objective of our research is to examine, whether the Mulde river represents an input pathway for MP particles to the Elbe discharge system. Our hypothesis is that the chemical industries located in the catchment area of the Mulde act as a discharge source of primary MPs which are subsequently transported downstream towards the Elbe. Accordingly, there should be more (primary) MPs just downstream of the river mouth, compared to upstream. Therefore, 2 sediment samples and 18 water samples from the Elbe river upstream and downstream the Mulde confluence were taken and analysed on their MP contents.</p><p>To extract MPs, sample preparation requires various steps including drying, size-fractionation, reduction of organic matter and density separation. The gained fractions are then filtered through glass microfibres paper using a vacuum pump. The dried filters are photographed and examined for MPs under a digital microscope. Representative particles are picked and measured. Finally, we determine their polymer type by pyrolysis or µFTIR.</p><p>A key result is that both, sediment and water samples, show a substantial increase in primary MPs (especially spheres) just downstream the mouth of the Mulde. Regarding the sampling technique of water samples, we observe differences in the amount and shape of MP particles between filter cascades and filter nets.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanyan Yang ◽  
Stefanos Banos ◽  
Gunnar Gerdts ◽  
Antje Wichels ◽  
Marlis Reich

Rivers are transport systems and supply adjacent ecosystems with nutrients. They also serve human well-being, for example as a source of food. Microorganism biodiversity is an important parameter for the ecological balance of river ecosystems. Despite the knowledge that fungi are key players in freshwater nutrient cycling and food webs, data on planktonic fungi of streams with higher stream order are scarce. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by a fungi-specific 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene tag sequencing approach, investigating mycoplankton diversity in the Elbe River along a transect from shallow freshwater, to the estuary and river plume down to the adjacent marine waters (sections of seventh stream order number). Using multivariate analyses and the quantitative process estimates (QPEs) method, questions (i) of how mycoplankton communities as part of the river continuum change along the transect, (ii) what factors, spatial and environmental, play a role, and (iii) what assembly processes, such as selection or dispersion, operate along the transect, were addressed. The partitioning of mycoplankton communities into three significant distant biomes was mainly driven by local environmental conditions that were partly under spatial control. The assembly processes underlying the biomes also differed significantly. Thus, variable selection dominated the upstream sections, while undominated processes like ecological drift dominated the sections close to the river mouth and beyond. Dispersal played a minor role. The results suggest that the ecological versatility of the mycoplankton communities changes along the transect as response, for example, to a drastic change from an autotrophic to a heterotrophic system caused by an abrupt increase in the river depth. Furthermore, a significant salinity-dependent occurrence of diverse basal fungal groups was observed, with no clade found exclusively in marine waters. These results provide an important framework to help understand patterns of riverine mycoplankton communities and serve as basis for a further in-depth work so that fungi, as an important ecological organism group, can be integrated into models of, e.g., usage-balance considerations of rivers.


Author(s):  
Emma Jakab ◽  
Zoltán Sebestyén ◽  
Bence Babinszki ◽  
Eszter Barta-Rajnai ◽  
Zsuzsanna Czégény ◽  
...  

SummaryThe thermo-oxidative decomposition of lovage (Levisticum officinale) and davana (Artemisia pallens) essential oils has been studied by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in 9% oxygen and 91% nitrogen atmosphere at 300 °C to simulate low-temperature tobacco heating conditions. Both lovage and davana oils contain numerous chemical substances; the main components of both oils are various oxygen-containing compounds. Isobenzofuranones are the most important constituents of lovage oil, and their relative intensity changed significantly during oxidative pyrolysis. (Z)-ligustilide underwent two kinds of decomposition reactions: an aromatization reaction resulting in the formation of butylidenephthalide and the scission of the lactone ring with the elimination of carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide. Davanone is the main component of davana oil, which did not decompose considerably during low-temperature oxidative pyrolysis. However, the relative yield of the second most intensive component, bicyclogermacrene, reduced markedly due to bond rearrangement reactions. Davana ether underwent oxidation reactions leading to the formation of various furanic compounds. The changes in the composition of both essential oils could be interpreted in terms of bond splitting, intramolecular rearrangement mechanisms and oxidation reactions of several constituents during low-temperature oxidative pyrolysis. The applied thermo-oxidative method was found to be suitable to study the stability of the essential oils and monitor the decomposition products under simulated tobacco heating conditions. In spite of the complicated composition of the essential oils, no evidence for interaction between the oil components was found. [Beitr. Tabakforsch. Int. 29 (2020) 27–43]


2008 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Heryanto Langsa

<p>Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menentukan senyawa organik khususnya organic karbon terlarut (DOC) dari dua spesies daun tumbuhan (<em>wandoo eucalyptus </em>and <em>pinus radiate, conifer</em>) yang larut dalam air selama periode 5 bulan leaching eksperimen. Kecepatan melarutnya senyawa organic ditentukan secara kuantitatif dan kualitatif menggunakan kombinasi dari beberapa teknik diantaranya Total Organic Carbon (TOC) analyser, Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-VIS) spektrokopi dan pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS).</p><p>Hasil analisis DOC dan UV menunjukkan peningkatan yang tajam dari kelarutan senyawa organic di awal periode pengamatan yang selanjutnya berkurang seiring dengan waktu secara eksponensial. Jumlah relatif senyawa organic yang terlarut tergantung pada luas permukaan, aktifitas mikrobiologi dan jenis sampel tumbuhan (segar atau kering) yang digunakan. Fluktuasi profil DOC dan UV<sub>254</sub> disebabkan oleh aktifitas mikrobiologi. Diperoleh bahwa daun kering lebih mudah terdegradasi menghasilkan senyawa organic dalam air dibandingkan dengan daun segar. Hasil pyrolysis secara umum menunjukkan bahwa senyawa hidrokarbon aromatic dan fenol (dan turunannya) lebih banyak ditemukan pada residue sampel setelah proses leaching kemungkinan karena adanya senyawa lignin atau aktifitas humifikasi mikrobiologi membuktikan bahwa senyawa-senyawa tersebut merupakan komponen penting dalam proses karakterisasi DOC.</p>


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