Microplastics in the sediment of Matagorda & San Antonio Bays: separation and identification

Simple item page
dc.creatorMallinson, Caroline
dc.date.accessioned2023-02-09T14:31:37Z
dc.date.available2023-02-09T14:31:37Z
dc.date.issued2022-05
dc.description.abstractIn the marine environment microplastics in surface waters are more easily accessible and analyzed, leaving those in the benthic environment relatively understudied due to the challenge in purifying the plastics from mineral and natural organic matter. In this study we validated a methodology using density separation to isolate plastics in marine sediment based on a set of homemade stainless-steel apparatus and lithium metatungstate solution. Using this method, we further obtained a baseline dataset of microplastics in surface sediments at 7 sites of Matagorda and San Antonio Bays, including polymer composition and potential spatial distribution patterns of the microplastics. FTIR results detected 17 different polymer types, as well as various rubber polymers. Multiple plastic morphology types were visually identified including disks, fibers, and fragments. the number of microplastics per gram of sediment was highest near a point source plastic plant near the Lavaca Ricer output. No other clear patterns were observed, suggesting the influence of currents or winds in the distribution of the sediment and microplastics.en_US
dc.description.departmentMarine Scienceen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipLiu, Zhanfei
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2152/117434
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.26153/tsw/44315
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.relation.ispartofStudent Worksen_US
dc.rights.restrictionOpenen_US
dc.subjectmicroplasticen_US
dc.subjectbenthic microplasticen_US
dc.subjectpoint source plasticen_US
dc.subjectdensity separationen_US
dc.subjectlithium metatungstateen_US
dc.subjectmicroscope-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)en_US
dc.subjectspatial distributionen_US
dc.subjectTexas coasten_US
dc.titleMicroplastics in the sediment of Matagorda & San Antonio Bays: separation and identificationen_US
dc.typeOtheren_US

Access full-text files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
caroline_matagorda plastic report_tsw.pdf
Size:
1.45 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.64 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

Collections

Student Works Collection