TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploring the presence and distribution of microplastics in subterranean estuaries from southwest India
AU - Valsan, Gokul
AU - Warrier, Anish Kumar
AU - Amrutha, K.
AU - Anusree, S.
AU - Rangel-Buitrago, Nelson
N1 - Funding Information:
GV thanks the Manipal Academy of Higher Education for the Dr. T. M. A. Pai Ph D Fellowship. The authors thank Lino Yovan, Amrish V. Narayan, Santhosh Prabhu, and Prof. K. Balakrishna for their help and support during the field work. 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). KA thanks the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India for a research fellowship under the DST-INSPIRE scheme (Sanction no. DST/INSPIRE Fellowship/2018/IF180508 dated September 25, 2019). A part of this work was supported by the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India under the network project on “Mission SGD” ( NCESS/MOES/402/GIA/2019/277 ) to Prof. K. Balakrishna. Authors are grateful to Mr. Praveen and Ms. Shilpa for their help with instrumentation. Authors are indebted to Dr. Suma A. Rao, Chairperson, Department of Chemistry, MIT for providing the ATR-FTIR facility. The authors thank the editor and the reviewers for their insightful comments that helped in improving the final version of the manuscript.
Funding Information:
GV thanks the Manipal Academy of Higher Education for the Dr. T. M. A. Pai Ph D Fellowship. The authors thank Lino Yovan, Amrish V. Narayan, Santhosh Prabhu, and Prof. K. Balakrishna for their help and support during the field work. 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). KA thanks the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India for a research fellowship under the DST-INSPIRE scheme (Sanction no. DST/INSPIRE Fellowship/2018/IF180508 dated September 25, 2019). A part of this work was supported by the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India under the network project on “Mission SGD” (NCESS/MOES/402/GIA/2019/277) to Prof. K. Balakrishna. Authors are grateful to Mr. Praveen and Ms. Shilpa for their help with instrumentation. Authors are indebted to Dr. Suma A. Rao, Chairperson, Department of Chemistry, MIT for providing the ATR-FTIR facility. The authors thank the editor and the reviewers for their insightful comments that helped in improving the final version of the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2023/5
Y1 - 2023/5
N2 - Rivers, surface runoff, and the wind all transport microplastics (MPs) to the ocean. There is a knowledge gap concerning the distribution of microplastics in transitional subterranean estuaries. Here, we report the presence of microplastics in the pore water, groundwater, and sea water from four locations in southwest India. Pore water, groundwater, and seawater had mean MP abundances (± standard deviations) of 0.75 (±0.66), 0.15 (±0.1), and 0.11 (±0.07) MPs/l, respectively. Fibres were the dominant category of MPs found. Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy revealed the presence of polymers like polyester, low-density polyethylene, and polystyrene. Possible sources of microplastic are fishing activities, tourism, and coastal residents. The microplastics-derived risk assessment scores indicate severe risk to the ecosystems. Fibrous microplastics in pore water indicate that these linear particles can migrate vertically through sandy sediments, reaching subterranean estuaries. We believe submarine groundwater discharge can act as a possible pathway for microplastics to enter the oceans.
AB - Rivers, surface runoff, and the wind all transport microplastics (MPs) to the ocean. There is a knowledge gap concerning the distribution of microplastics in transitional subterranean estuaries. Here, we report the presence of microplastics in the pore water, groundwater, and sea water from four locations in southwest India. Pore water, groundwater, and seawater had mean MP abundances (± standard deviations) of 0.75 (±0.66), 0.15 (±0.1), and 0.11 (±0.07) MPs/l, respectively. Fibres were the dominant category of MPs found. Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy revealed the presence of polymers like polyester, low-density polyethylene, and polystyrene. Possible sources of microplastic are fishing activities, tourism, and coastal residents. The microplastics-derived risk assessment scores indicate severe risk to the ecosystems. Fibrous microplastics in pore water indicate that these linear particles can migrate vertically through sandy sediments, reaching subterranean estuaries. We believe submarine groundwater discharge can act as a possible pathway for microplastics to enter the oceans.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85150908443
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85150908443#tab=citedBy
U2 - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114820
DO - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114820
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85150908443
SN - 0025-326X
VL - 190
JO - Marine Pollution Bulletin
JF - Marine Pollution Bulletin
M1 - 114820
ER -