TY - JOUR
T1 - Occurrence and Characteristics of Microplastic Pollution in Xiangxi Bay of Three Gorges Reservoir, China
AU - Zhang, Kai
AU - Xiong, Xiong
AU - Hu, Hongjuan
AU - Wu, Chenxi
AU - Bi, Yonghong
AU - Wu, Yonghong
AU - Zhou, Bingsheng
AU - Lam, Paul K.S.
AU - Liu, Jiantong
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2017/4/4
Y1 - 2017/4/4
N2 - Microplastic pollution in inland waters is receiving growing attentions. Reservoirs are suspected to be particularly vulnerable to microplastic pollution. However, very limited information is currently available on pollution characteristics of microplastics in reservoir ecosystems. This work studied the distribution and characteristics of microplastics in the backwater area of Xiangxi River, a typical tributary of the Three Gorges Reservoir. Microplastics were detected in both surface water and sediment with concentrations ranging from 0.55 × 105 to 342 × 105 items km-2 and 80 to 864 items m-2, respectively. Polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene were identified in surface water, whereas polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate, and pigments were observed in sediment. In addition, microplastics were also detected in the digestion tracts of 25.7% of fish samples, and polyethylene and nylon were identified. Redundancy analysis indicates a weak correlation between microplastics and water quality variables but a negative correlation with water level of the reservoir and Secchi depth. Results from this study confirm the presence of high abundance microplastics in reservoir impacted tributaries, and suggest that water level regulated hydrodynamic condition and input of nonpoint sources are important regulators for microplastic accumulation and distribution in the backwater area of reservoir tributaries.
AB - Microplastic pollution in inland waters is receiving growing attentions. Reservoirs are suspected to be particularly vulnerable to microplastic pollution. However, very limited information is currently available on pollution characteristics of microplastics in reservoir ecosystems. This work studied the distribution and characteristics of microplastics in the backwater area of Xiangxi River, a typical tributary of the Three Gorges Reservoir. Microplastics were detected in both surface water and sediment with concentrations ranging from 0.55 × 105 to 342 × 105 items km-2 and 80 to 864 items m-2, respectively. Polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene were identified in surface water, whereas polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate, and pigments were observed in sediment. In addition, microplastics were also detected in the digestion tracts of 25.7% of fish samples, and polyethylene and nylon were identified. Redundancy analysis indicates a weak correlation between microplastics and water quality variables but a negative correlation with water level of the reservoir and Secchi depth. Results from this study confirm the presence of high abundance microplastics in reservoir impacted tributaries, and suggest that water level regulated hydrodynamic condition and input of nonpoint sources are important regulators for microplastic accumulation and distribution in the backwater area of reservoir tributaries.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85019969888&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acs.est.7b00369
DO - 10.1021/acs.est.7b00369
M3 - Article
C2 - 28298079
AN - SCOPUS:85019969888
SN - 0013-936X
VL - 51
SP - 3794
EP - 3801
JO - Environmental Science and Technology
JF - Environmental Science and Technology
IS - 7
ER -
