TY - JOUR
T1 - Did the COVID-19 pandemic play a role in the spatial and temporal variations of microplastics? Evidence from a tropical river in southern India
AU - Amrutha, Kaniyambadi
AU - Warrier, Anish Kumar
AU - Rangel-Buitrago, Nelson
N1 - Funding Information:
KA is thankful to the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (Sanction no. DST/INSPIRE Fellowship/2018/IF180508 dated 25-09-2019) for a junior research fellowship under the DST-INSPIRE scheme. The authors thank the Central Water Commission (CWC), Government of India for providing the discharge data. AKW thanks the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India , for a research project on microplastics (File no. CRG/2021/004725 dated 24th June 2022). The authors are thankful to Dr. Prakasha Shetty, former Head, Department of Chemistry, MIT, for granting permission to use the instrument to perform ATR-FTIR analysis, and to Mr. Praveen, and Ms. Shilpa for their help with the instrument. The authors express their gratitude to Mr. Lino Yovan and Mr. Gokul Valsan for their help in capturing the microscopic images of MPs. Thanks also to Ms. Reshma S R in for preparing the land use land cover map; Mr. Vishnu Unnikrishnan, Mr. Amrish V Narayan, Mr. Joju George Sebastian, Mr. Sachin Shajikumar, Mr. Mithrathmajan S., and Mr. Nandan Joseph for their help during the field work. The authors are grateful to the editors and the reviewers for their insightful comments which helped improving the quality of the manuscript.
Funding Information:
KA is thankful to the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (Sanction no. DST/INSPIRE Fellowship/2018/IF180508 dated 25-09-2019) for a junior research fellowship under the DST-INSPIRE scheme. The authors thank the Central Water Commission (CWC), Government of India for providing the discharge data. AKW thanks the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, for a research project on microplastics (File no. CRG/2021/004725 dated 24th June 2022). The authors are thankful to Dr. Prakasha Shetty, former Head, Department of Chemistry, MIT, for granting permission to use the instrument to perform ATR-FTIR analysis, and to Mr. Praveen, and Ms. Shilpa for their help with the instrument. The authors express their gratitude to Mr. Lino Yovan and Mr. Gokul Valsan for their help in capturing the microscopic images of MPs. Thanks also to Ms. Reshma S R in for preparing the land use land cover map; Mr. Vishnu Unnikrishnan, Mr. Amrish V Narayan, Mr. Joju George Sebastian, Mr. Sachin Shajikumar, Mr. Mithrathmajan S. and Mr. Nandan Joseph for their help during the field work. The authors are grateful to the editors and the reviewers for their insightful comments which helped improving the quality of the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2023/7
Y1 - 2023/7
N2 - Personal protective equipment (PPE) use has increased because of COVID-19, producing more microplastics (MPs). The pandemic's impact on MP pollution in Indian rivers is little understood. In this study, the Netravathi River in Karnataka was investigated for the spatiotemporal distribution of MPs. The MPs abundance, size, and categories varied seasonally, with a higher concentration during the monsoon seasons. The reduction in rainfall during MON20 and the COVID-19 lockdown can be the reasons for the significant decrease in the MP concentration when compared to MON19. Polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate were the most abundant polymers, with a shift from polyethylene to the latter (74 %) during post-monsoon season post-lockdown. The situation of MP pollution in Western Ghats can be mitigated with the aid of appropriate waste management of plastic trash and greater public awareness about the disposal of single-use plastics, which has risen significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
AB - Personal protective equipment (PPE) use has increased because of COVID-19, producing more microplastics (MPs). The pandemic's impact on MP pollution in Indian rivers is little understood. In this study, the Netravathi River in Karnataka was investigated for the spatiotemporal distribution of MPs. The MPs abundance, size, and categories varied seasonally, with a higher concentration during the monsoon seasons. The reduction in rainfall during MON20 and the COVID-19 lockdown can be the reasons for the significant decrease in the MP concentration when compared to MON19. Polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate were the most abundant polymers, with a shift from polyethylene to the latter (74 %) during post-monsoon season post-lockdown. The situation of MP pollution in Western Ghats can be mitigated with the aid of appropriate waste management of plastic trash and greater public awareness about the disposal of single-use plastics, which has risen significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115088
DO - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115088
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85160722182
SN - 0025-326X
VL - 192
JO - Marine Pollution Bulletin
JF - Marine Pollution Bulletin
M1 - 115088
ER -