Journal
WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Volume 79, Issue 10, Pages 1868-1877Publisher
IWA PUBLISHING
DOI: 10.2166/wst.2019.185
Keywords
abundance; microplastics; pollution; Poyang Lake; sediment
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [41461042]
- Jiangxi Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China [20171BAB214011]
- Science and Technology Project of Jiangxi Provincial Education Department [GJJ60311]
- Jiangxi Province Science and Technology Support Program [20161BBG70004]
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Microplastics are considered to be a widespread environmental contaminant, posing a serious threat to the aquatic environment. We addressed this issue based on field observations and laboratory analysis of samples from Poyang Lake. We collected sediment samples from 10 sites across Poyang Lake during 2017. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results showed that the abundance of microplastics ranged from 11 to 3,153 items/kg dw in the sediment samples. Except at Nanjishan, the amount of microplastics in different periods decreased in the order: December > April > July. Microplastics with a size <1 mm were the most abundant fraction in sediments, reaching over 50%. Observations under microscope revealed four types of microplastics in Poyang Lake: fragments, films, foams and fibers. Fragments were more common in sediments. Microplastics have complex surface topography, typically including rough surfaces, porous structures, cracks and extensive damage. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis indicated that most microplastics contained Si, Na, Ca, Cl and Al. Overall, the results provided strong evidence of high levels of microplastics in Poyang Lake, suggested that the microplastics pollution status in Poyang Lake should continue to be monitored.
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