From freshwaters to bivalves: Microplastic distribution along the Saint-Lawrence river-to-sea continuum
Despite the close connection of freshwaters to human health, the occurrence and fate of microplastics in marine estuaries remain poorly documented. To study these particles in the Saint-Lawrence River (Quebec, Canada), surface water and marine bivalve samples were collected along the river-to-sea co...
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Published in | Journal of hazardous materials Vol. 435; p. 128977 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Netherlands
Elsevier B.V
05.08.2022
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Despite the close connection of freshwaters to human health, the occurrence and fate of microplastics in marine estuaries remain poorly documented. To study these particles in the Saint-Lawrence River (Quebec, Canada), surface water and marine bivalve samples were collected along the river-to-sea continuum. The water samples were subdivided to characterize the large microplastics (LMPs; 300–3200 µm) and the small microplastics (SMPs; 20–300 µm). Particles were identified by microscopy and infrared spectroscopy techniques. The concentration of LMPs was higher in the surface water in the downstream stations (0.0319 ± 0.0147 items.L-1) compared to the upstream stations (0.0007 ± 0.0006 items.L-1). No clear trend was observed for the SMPs. After digestion of the biological tissues, the microplastics ingested by the bivalves were recovered and characterized by microscopy coupled with infrared spectroscopy. Up to 3 items were found per bivalve suggesting that these particles are also present in the water column of the marine estuary and the gulf. The physico-chemical gradients along the continuum were monitored since they could be directly involved in the vertical and horizontal transport of microplastics. This study provides scarce field data collected along the world’s largest estuary and gives new insights concerning the fate of microplastics along a river-to-sea continuum.
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•Surface water samples and bivalves were collected from a Canadian river.•Up to 0.032 microplastics.L-1 were found in the Saint-Lawrence middle estuary.•0–3 microplastics were found in benthic species.•Microplastics enter the trophic chain. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0304-3894 1873-3336 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128977 |