Journal
CHEMOSPHERE
Volume 265, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.129121
Keywords
Chironomidae; Cottus gobio; Environmental monitoring; PET; Remote ecosystem
Categories
Funding
- Bioscience Research Center
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This study found microplastics in snow samples, but no plastic or microplastics larger than 10 micrometers were found in the lake ecosystem. The results suggest that abundant snowfall in winter could be a significant source of microplastic pollution in high-mountain lakes.
Plastic pollution has become a pervasive environmental problem on a global scale, from the ocean depths to the aquatic ecosystems of the Tibetan Plateau. To date, data on plastic and microplastic occurrence in pristine ecosystems like high-mountain lakes are lacking. In this study, plastic (>5000 mu m) and microplastic (10-5000 mu m) levels were measured in snow at the end of the winter season (April 2020), and in water, sediment, and biological samples collected monthly (June-October 2019) during the ice-free season from the Dimon Lake, a high-mountain lake in the Carnic Alps, northeast Italy. Biological samples consisted of chironomids (Diptera, Chironomidae; n = 150) and stomach contents of Cottus gobio (n = 40). Analysis of the water, sediment, and biological samples revealed the absence of plastic and microplastics larger than 10 mu m, whereas the snow samples contained microplastics of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) albeit at very low levels (0.11 +/- 0.19 L-1). These results show that while the lake ecosystem could be considered unpolluted by microplastics, abundant snow precipitation in winter can trap microplastic particles that deposit on the ground. The very low levels of PET microparticles recorded in the snow samples suggest the need for further research to better understand the source of microplastic pollution in this environmental matrix. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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