TY - JOUR
T1 - Spatial Distribution of Microplastics in Surficial Benthic Sediment of Lake Michigan and Lake Erie
AU - Lenaker, Peter L.
AU - Corsi, Steven R.
AU - Mason, Sherri A.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors gratefully acknowledge the crew of the R.V. Lake Guardian for their assistance collecting Lake Michigan and Lake Erie sediment samples. They thank David Krabbenhoft for serving as scientific lead for the Lake Michigan and Lake Erie sampling cruises. They also thank the USGS Upper Midwest Water Science Center mercury research team for assistance in sediment sample collection and processing. Thanks also go to Matthew Pronschinske and Michelle Nott for assistance with sample location maps and figures. The authors thank Edwin Smith and Elizabeth Murphy for program coordination. Support for this project was provided by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lakes National Program Office under agreement number DW-014-92453901. The views expressed in this work are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency but do represent the views of the U.S. Geological Survey. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2021/1/5
Y1 - 2021/1/5
N2 - The spatial distribution, concentration, particle size, and polymer compositions of microplastics in Lake Michigan and Lake Erie sediment were investigated. Fibers/lines were the most abundant of the five particle types characterized. Microplastic particles were observed in all samples with mean concentrations for particles greater than 0.355 mm of 65.2 p kg-1 in Lake Michigan samples (n = 20) and 431 p kg-1 in Lake Erie samples (n = 12). Additional analysis of particles with size 0.1250-0.3549 mm in Lake Erie resulted in a mean concentration of 631 p kg-1. The majority of polymers in Lake Michigan samples were poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and semisynthetic cellulose (S.S. Cellulose), and in Lake Erie samples were S.S. Cellulose, polypropylene (PP), and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). Polymer density estimates indicated that 85 and 74% of observed microplastic particles have a density greater than 1.1 g cm-3 for Lake Michigan and Lake Erie, respectively. The current study provided a multidimensional dataset on the spatial distribution of microplastics in benthic sediment from Lake Michigan and Lake Erie and valuable information for assessment of the fate of microplastics in the Great Lakes.
AB - The spatial distribution, concentration, particle size, and polymer compositions of microplastics in Lake Michigan and Lake Erie sediment were investigated. Fibers/lines were the most abundant of the five particle types characterized. Microplastic particles were observed in all samples with mean concentrations for particles greater than 0.355 mm of 65.2 p kg-1 in Lake Michigan samples (n = 20) and 431 p kg-1 in Lake Erie samples (n = 12). Additional analysis of particles with size 0.1250-0.3549 mm in Lake Erie resulted in a mean concentration of 631 p kg-1. The majority of polymers in Lake Michigan samples were poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and semisynthetic cellulose (S.S. Cellulose), and in Lake Erie samples were S.S. Cellulose, polypropylene (PP), and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). Polymer density estimates indicated that 85 and 74% of observed microplastic particles have a density greater than 1.1 g cm-3 for Lake Michigan and Lake Erie, respectively. The current study provided a multidimensional dataset on the spatial distribution of microplastics in benthic sediment from Lake Michigan and Lake Erie and valuable information for assessment of the fate of microplastics in the Great Lakes.
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U2 - 10.1021/acs.est.0c06087
DO - 10.1021/acs.est.0c06087
M3 - Article
C2 - 33283500
AN - SCOPUS:85097897717
VL - 55
SP - 373
EP - 384
JO - Environmental Science & Technology
JF - Environmental Science & Technology
SN - 0013-936X
IS - 1
ER -