Journal
JOURNAL OF GREAT LAKES RESEARCH
Volume 46, Issue 6, Pages 1754-1760Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.jglr.2020.08.001
Keywords
Microplastic; Great Lakes; Dunes; Aeolian; Degradation
Funding
- Geological Society of America
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Microplastic particles, often studied as aquatic pollutants, have been recovered from coastal dunes along the shores of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie in New York and Pennsylvania. Surface and shallow sub-surface sand samples were collected from coastal dunes in 1 m(2) areas from 5 locations along Lake Erie: Sunset Bay, Dunkirk Harbor, Point Gratiot, and Canadaway Creek in New York and Presque Isle State Park Beach #11 in Pennsylvania. Samples were also collected from coastal dunes on Lake Ontario at Sandy Island Beach State Park, NY. Abundances, shapes, sizes, textures, and degradation of microplastics were characterized. Twenty-one of 26 samples yielded a variety of microplastics: pellets, fragments, and fibers. Larger microplastics (5.0-1.0 mm) were dominated by spheroidal and disk-shaped pellets with fewer fragments. Smaller microplastics (<= 1.0 mm) were predominantly fibers and small fragments. Some microplastic particles exhibited evidence of degradation and weathering as a consequence of transport and exposure to the elements. The presence of microplastics in coastal dunes is attributable to aeolian transport from the adjacent beach. (C) 2020 International Association for Great Lakes Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available