Sediment trapping as a method for monitoring microplastic flux rates and deposition at aquatic environments

Author(s):  
Saija Saarni ◽  
Samuel Hartikainen ◽  
Emilia Uurasjärvi ◽  
Senja Meronen ◽  
Jari Hänninen ◽  
...  

<p>Microplastics are reported from wide range of aquatic environments with concentrations up to thousands of particles per kilogram of sediment. Due to a lack of temporal control, evaluation of the influx rate of microplastic pollution is not enabled. However, understanding the annual flux rate of microplastics to the aquatic environments is a crucial aspect for environmental monitoring and for risk assessment. A sediment trap method is widely applied in aquatic sedimentary studies in order to measure sedimentation rates and understand sedimentation processes. We have tested near-bottom sediment trap method in lacustrine and estuary environments, at central and coastal Finland, for measuring and quantifying the microplastic influx rate during one year. Near-bottom sediment traps with two collector tubes and known surface area, fixed one meter from the bottom, collect all particles that are about to accumulate on the basin floor of the water body. Controlled temporal interval of trap maintenance enables calculation and determination of local microplastic influx rate i.e. number of accumulating particles per time per surface area. The test results are very promising.  Near-bottom sediment traps can be used for long term monitoring in order to gain a deeper understanding of the microplastic transport and sedimentation processes, confirm and compare the feasibility and efficiency of different environmental conservation methods, setting threshold values for microplastic influx, and supervising that the defined target conditions are met.</p>

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (19) ◽  
pp. 12011-12030 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathias Gergely ◽  
Steven J. Cooper ◽  
Timothy J. Garrett

Abstract. The snowflake microstructure determines the microwave scattering properties of individual snowflakes and has a strong impact on snowfall radar signatures. In this study, individual snowflakes are represented by collections of randomly distributed ice spheres where the size and number of the constituent ice spheres are specified by the snowflake mass and surface-area-to-volume ratio (SAV) and the bounding volume of each ice sphere collection is given by the snowflake maximum dimension. Radar backscatter cross sections for the ice sphere collections are calculated at X-, Ku-, Ka-, and W-band frequencies and then used to model triple-frequency radar signatures for exponential snowflake size distributions (SSDs). Additionally, snowflake complexity values obtained from high-resolution multi-view snowflake images are used as an indicator of snowflake SAV to derive snowfall triple-frequency radar signatures. The modeled snowfall triple-frequency radar signatures cover a wide range of triple-frequency signatures that were previously determined from radar reflectivity measurements and illustrate characteristic differences related to snow type, quantified through snowflake SAV, and snowflake size. The results show high sensitivity to snowflake SAV and SSD maximum size but are generally less affected by uncertainties in the parameterization of snowflake mass, indicating the importance of snowflake SAV for the interpretation of snowfall triple-frequency radar signatures.


1981 ◽  
Vol 241 (5) ◽  
pp. R241-R257 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Phillips

Transport mechanisms and their control in various segments of insect excretory systems are reviewed and compared to those of vertebrate nephrons, exocrine glands, and hindguts. Formation of the primary urine in most insect Malpighian tubules (MT) is by isosmotic secretion, which is driven by an apical cation (K+) pump rather than by Na+-K+-ATPase. Unlike the glomerular filtrate of vertebrates, insect MT fluid is very different from the blood in composition, often having very high K+-to-Na+ ratios, and urine-to-plasma values much less than unity for most other solutes. The total surface area of insect MT is some 20 times that of vertebrate glomeruli per unit body weight. Secretion of MT fluid is regulated by neuropeptides over a wide range of rats, similar to glomerular filtration rate values for many vertebrate kidneys. Several secretory mechanisms for selected solutes are probably common to insect and vertebrate tubules. Unlike vertebrates, insects usually reabsorb most of the filtered water, ions, and metabolites in the rectum, which has a small surface area relative to the MT. The rectum is also where ionic and osmotic composition of the excreta is finally adjusted, under the control of neuropeptide hormones. In the rectum, insect excreta can become as hyperosmotic as mammalian urine, even though a countercurrent multiplier system is not present. Active transport of Cl- predominates in both locust rectum and the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop, but the characteristics of the anion transfer process are quite different in these two epithelia.xs


2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 175-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liga Dabare ◽  
Ruta Svinka

Porous ceramic pellets for possible environmental application were produced from different Latvian clays by sintering at different temperatures. Their characteristics and influence of additives were analysed using X-ray diffraction, mercury porosimetry and BET tests. The obtained ceramic pellets from calcareous clays after immersion in distilled water change its pH value, which affects their capability to adsorb ions or molecules on the surface. The sorption capabilities are dependent on the pH level of water solution, composition of clays, and used adsorbate. Porosity of the produced pellets is mostly within range from 15 to 25 % throughout all sintering temperatures with a slight decrease at 1050 ?C. The specific surface area has a wide range up to 30 m2/g. The highest surface area has pellets sintered at lower temperatures. The adsorption capability of pellets was evaluated using water solutions with different ions. The most promising results were obtained with iodine sorption. For most pellets the sorption capacity was 12.7 mg/g, although for the pellets sintered at 1050 ?C it was lower.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 1267-1285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viena Puigcorbé ◽  
Pere Masqué ◽  
Frédéric A. C. Le Moigne

Abstract. The ocean's biological carbon pump (BCP) plays a major role in the global carbon cycle. A fraction of the photosynthetically fixed organic carbon produced in surface waters is exported below the sunlit layer as settling particles (e.g., marine snow). Since the seminal works on the BCP, global estimates of the global strength of the BCP have improved but large uncertainties remain (from 5 to 20 Gt C yr−1 exported below the euphotic zone or mixed-layer depth). The 234Th technique is widely used to measure the downward export of particulate organic carbon (POC). This technique has the advantage of allowing a downward flux to be determined by integrating the deficit of 234Th in the upper water column and coupling it to the POC∕234Th ratio in sinking particles. However, the factors controlling the regional, temporal, and depth variations of POC∕234Th ratios are poorly understood. We present a database of 9318 measurements of the POC∕234Th ratio in the ocean, from the surface down to >5500 m, sampled on three size fractions (∼>0.7 µm, ∼1–50 µm, ∼>50 µm), collected with in situ pumps and bottles, and also from bulk particles collected with sediment traps. The dataset is archived in the data repository PANGAEA® under https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.911424 (Puigcorbé, 2019). The samples presented in this dataset were collected between 1989 and 2018, and the data have been obtained from published papers and open datasets available online. Unpublished data have also been included. Multiple measurements can be found in most of the open ocean provinces. However, there is an uneven distribution of the data, with some areas highly sampled (e.g., China Sea, Bermuda Atlantic Time Series station) compared to some others that are not well represented, such as the southeastern Atlantic, the south Pacific, and the south Indian oceans. Some coastal areas, although in a much smaller number, are also included in this global compilation. Globally, based on different depth horizons and climate zones, the median POC∕234Th ratios have a wide range, from 0.6 to 18 µmol dpm−1.


2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1477-1512 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Vichi ◽  
A. Coluccelli ◽  
M. Ravaioli ◽  
F. Giglio ◽  
L. Langone ◽  
...  

Abstract. Several biogeochemical data have been collected in the last 10 years of Italian activity in Antarctica (ABIOCLEAR, ROSSMIZE, BIOSESO-I/II). A comprehensive 1-D biogeochemical model was implemented as a tool to link observations with processes and to investigate the mechanisms that regulate the flux of biogenic material through the water column. The model is ideally located at station B (175° E–74° S) and was set up to reproduce the seasonal cycle of phytoplankton and organic matter fluxes as forced by the dominant water column physics over the period 1990–2001. Austral spring-summer bloom conditions are assessed by comparing simulated nutrient drawdown, primary production rates, bacterial respiration and biomass with the available observations. The simulated biogenic fluxes of carbon, nitrogen and silica have been compared with the fluxes derived from sediment traps data. The model reproduces the observed magnitude of the biogenic fluxes, especially those found in the bottom sediment trap, but the peaks are markedly delayed in time. Sensitivity experiments have shown that the characterization of detritus, the choice of the sinking velocity and the degradation rates are crucial for the timing and magnitude of the vertical fluxes. An increase of velocity leads to a shift towards observation but also to an overestimation of the deposition flux which can be counteracted by higher bacterial remineralization rates. Model results suggest that the timing of the observed fluxes depends first and foremost on the timing of surface production and on a combination of size-distribution and quality of the autochtonous biogenic material. It is hypothesized that the bottom sediment trap collects material originated from the rapid sinking of freshly-produced particles and also from the previous year's production period.


1987 ◽  
Vol 119 (S140) ◽  
pp. 15-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry R. Murkin ◽  
Bruce D.J. Batt

AbstractThis paper reviews the interactions of vertebrates and invertebrates in peatlands and marshes to assess current knowledge and future research needs. Living organisms may interact through a number of direct trophic and nutrient pathways and a variety of non-trophic, habitat-dependent relationships. Freshwater marshes and peatlands are dynamic aquatic environments and organisms that occupy these areas must be adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions. The avian community illustrates the main interactions of invertebrates and vertebrates in peatlands and marshes. Waterfowl, along with fish and furbearers, are the most economically important vertebrates using these habitats. Each of these groups has important trophic and habitat links to the invertebrates within wetlands.The most common interaction between vertebrates and invertebrates is the use of invertebrates as food by vertebrates. Few studies, however, have dealt with trophic dynamics or secondary production within wetlands. Waterfowl, fish, and many other wetland vertebrates, during all or part of their life cycles, regularly feed on invertebrates. Some invertebrates are vectors of disease and parasites to vertebrates. Vertebrates can directly affect the structural substrate that invertebrates depend on as habitat through consumption of macrophytes or through the use of living and dead plant material in the construction of houses and nests. Conversely, herbivorous invertebrates may directly affect the survival and distribution of macrophytes in wetlands. Macrophyte distribution, in turn, is an important factor in determining vertebrate use of wetlands. The general lack of both taxonomic and ecological information on invertebrates in wetlands is the main hindrance to future elucidation of vertebrate–invertebrate interactions in these environments. Development of invertebrate sampling techniques suitable for wetland habitats also is necessary. More specific research needs must be met to develop a better understanding of the structure and function of these dynamic systems.


2021 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 507-519
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Bronikowska ◽  
Małgorzata Pisarska-Jamroży ◽  
A.J. (Tom) van Loon

ABSTRACT Dropstones in lacustrine and marine sediments show a wide range of sizes: from less than a millimeter to many meters. Their size and shape determine the velocity and the acceleration when they settle through the water column, and this, in turn, determines in principle the imprint that they make in the bottom sediment. Although these parameters are crucial for dropstone deposition, the unknown material (sediment) properties (like strength, porosity, pore-water content, viscosity, etc.) of the bottom sediment play a just as important role in this process as the water depth, which can physically be understood as the length of the pathway traveled vertically through a dense medium before the impact. Reconstruction of the principal environmental conditions at the time of dropstone fall and deposition consequently requires considering the variety of factors affecting the final imprint depth of a dropstone, the combination of several numerical methods. Here, we show the results of numerical modeling of dropstones with different sizes that settle through water columns with different depths. Our results show how environmental factors control the deformation structures formed at the sedimentary surface during the impact of a dropstone, and how deep the imprint caused by the settling dropstone will be.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1017 ◽  
pp. 11-20
Author(s):  
Evgeny A. Shoshin ◽  
Valeria V. Strokova ◽  
Zheng Mao Ye

Silicate micro- and nano-additives are multifunctional in relation to cement systems. Their application can solve a wide range of technological problems while maintaining the economic efficiency of technical solutions. The effect of silicate additives and fillers is determined by their level of dispersion, due to which the technologies for producing nano- and submicro-sized dispersed materials are being developed. The combination of mechanochemical synthesis of modified calcium hydrosilicates with subsequent thermolysis makes it possible to produce calcium silicate dispersions (SCD), which differ in polymodality of the fractional composition including submicro (10–7–10–6 m) and microdimensional (≥10–6 m) modes. The main element of the technology is the use of modifying carbohydrate, which acts as a stabilizer of hydrated phases of silicates. A comparative study of SCD produced using sucrose (sSCD) and lactose (lSCD) revealed the effect of these carbohydrates on the properties of sSCD and lSCD, as well as their effectiveness as a component of cementitious composite binder. It was found that the level of adsorption of modifying carbohydrate determines the physical properties of SCD (granulometry, specific surface area). The relatively high residual content of free sucrose (0.24%) in the composition of sSCD prevents the consolidation of silicates nanoparticles formed during the thermolysis, causes a high content of submicro sized fractions and a high specific surface area with sSCD (26.3 ± 0.7 m2/g). Lactose is absorbed by the silicate phase; the residual content of free lactose does not exceed 0.028% of lSCD. The low content of stabilizing carbohydrate contributes to the development of nanoparticle consolidation, a decrease in the specific surface area of lSCD to 13.0 ± 0.2 m2/g and content of submicrosized fractions. The residual content of free carbohydrates and particle size characteristics of sSCD and lSCD determine the nature of their influence on Cement-SCD-based concrete setting and hardening. The presence of residual sucrose in the composition of sSCD and fine fractions determines the competitive nature of the processes of retardation of hardening and acceleration of hardening of the cement system due to the nucleation effect, as a result of which the curve of the setting time is extreme. In addition, the inhibitory effect of sucrose reduces the strength of concrete on the 7th day. By the 28th day, the inhibitory effect of sucrose has been overcome, and concrete samples demonstrate an 18% increase in compressive strength with a sSCD content of 30%. The low content of residual free lactose in the composition of lSCD causes the nucleation effect. As a result, there is a monotonous reduction in the setting time of concrete mix with an increase in the content of lSCD in the composition of HF, as well as a significant increase in concrete strength (up to 127%) on the 7th day. At the same time, on the 28th day the strength of concrete increases slightly


1999 ◽  
Vol 39 (9) ◽  
pp. 153-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Schmitt ◽  
V. Milisic ◽  
J.-L. Bertrand-Krajewski ◽  
D. Laplace ◽  
G. Chebbo

A model with density currents has been developed and tested to simulate bed load sediment traps. In this model, the bed load layer over the pipe invert is considered as a continuous layer characterised by a density and a viscosity which depends on the solid concentration. A set of equations has been established that describes the trapping of the bed load material as the dynamics of two non-miscible fluids over and in the bed load sediment trap. The Fluent package has been used and adapted to solve the equations of the model. The VOF method (Volume Of Fluid) has been chosen to solve the two phase approach according to a Euler-Euler scheme. Several series of simulations have been carried out in order to assess the influence of the slot position and trap design on efficiency. The results obtained agree with previous empirical findings, and allow confirmation (in a more reliable manner than before) that the best sediment trap design involves a centrally-placed slot with the two plates covering the trap reservoir placed at the same height as one another.


Radiocarbon ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 583-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Makio C. Honda

In order to verify sediment trap samples as indicators of upper ocean 14C concentrations, particulate inorganic radiocarbon (PICΔ14C) collected by time-series sediment traps in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea was measured by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). All of the PICΔ14C measurements were < 0‰, in contrast to GEOSECS 14C data in the upper ocean from the northwestern North Pacific. This difference is attributed to the upwelling of deepwater that contains low Δ14C of dissolved inorganic carbon (DICΔ14C) and to the decrease over time of surface DICΔ14C owing to the decrease of atmospheric Δ14C values. In addition, PICΔ14C values showed significant seasonal variability: PICΔ14C collected in the fall was the greatest (-22‰ on average), whereas PICΔ14C collected in winter showed an average minimum of −48‰. It is likely that this difference was caused by changes in mixed layer thickness. Although some uncertainties remain, further study on PICΔ14C will enable us to estimate seasonal variability in DICΔ14C and air-sea CO2 exchange rate.


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