The Fate of Plastic in the Oceans: Experiment Shows: Microplastics Aggregate with Natural Particles
Although new microplastics are constantly entering the oceans and some types of plastic have a relatively low density and therefore drift at the water surface, the microplastics concentrations at the surface of the oceans are often lower than expected.
Biofilm formed by bacteria and microalgae on a plastic surface in water from the Kiel Fjord, visualized with confocal laser scanning microscopy.
Credit: Jan Michels/Future Ocean
“In addition, we assumed that biofilms that are present on the surface of the microplastics play a role in the formation of aggregates,” explains Michels, who led the investigations during his time at GEOMAR and now works at Kiel University. Such biofilms are formed by microorganisms, typically bacteria and unicellular algae, and are relatively sticky. To investigate their influence on the aggregation, comparative experiments were conducted with plastic beads that were either purified or coated with a biofilm.
Credit: Jan Michels/Future Ocean
“If microplastics are coated with a biofilm and biogenic particles are simultaneously present, stable aggregates of microplastics and biogenic particles are formed very quickly in the laboratory,” summarises Michels. In many regions of the oceans, the presence of both numerous biogenic particles and biofilms on the microplastics is probably a typical situation.
Contacts and sources:
Lisa Wolf
Helmholtz Centre For Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR)
Citation: Rapid aggregation of biofilm-covered microplastics with marine biogenic particles Michels J, Stippkugel A, Lenz M, Wirtz K, Engel A. 2018 . Proc. R. Soc. B 20181203 , http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.1203 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.1203
Source: http://www.ineffableisland.com/2018/08/the-fate-of-plastic-in-oceans.html
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