TY - JOUR
T1 - Seasonal variations in the abundance and distribution of microplastic particles in the surface waters of a Southern Indian Lake
AU - Warrier, Anish Kumar
AU - Kulkarni, Bhavani
AU - Amrutha, K.
AU - Jayaram, Dhanasree
AU - Valsan, Gokul
AU - Agarwal, Prashansa
N1 - Funding Information:
AKW thanks the Vision Group of Science and Technology , Government of Karnataka (Sanction No. KSTePS/VGST-RGS/F/GRD No. 697/2017-18 dated 27-08-2018) for the procurement of chemicals and glassware. 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 research fellowship under the DST-INSPIRE scheme. The authors are thankful to Dr. Prakasha Shetty, Head, Department of Chemistry, MIT, for granting permission to use the instrument to perform FTIR-ATR Analysis and Mr. Praveen, the instrument technician who helped in the analysis. We thank Yamuna Sali A.S., Joju George Sebastian, and Sachin Shajikumar for their help during the sample collection. The authors are grateful to the editor and two anonymous reviewers whose comments have helped in improving the quality of the manuscript.
Funding Information:
AKW thanks the Vision Group of Science and Technology, Government of Karnataka (Sanction No. KSTePS/VGST-RGS/F/GRD No. 697/2017-18 dated 27-08-2018) for the procurement of chemicals and glassware. 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 research fellowship under the DST-INSPIRE scheme. The authors are thankful to Dr. Prakasha Shetty, Head, Department of Chemistry, MIT, for granting permission to use the instrument to perform FTIR-ATR Analysis and Mr. Praveen, the instrument technician who helped in the analysis. We thank Yamuna Sali A.S. Joju George Sebastian, and Sachin Shajikumar for their help during the sample collection. The authors are grateful to the editor and two anonymous reviewers whose comments have helped in improving the quality of the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2022/8
Y1 - 2022/8
N2 - Hazardous anthropogenic particles, such as microplastics (MPs) in the lake ecosystems, are a serious concern. In this work, we have investigated the seasonal occurrence and distribution of microplastics in the surface water samples of Lake Manipal in southwest India. The concentration of MPs was found to be higher during the monsoon season (0.423 particles/L) in comparison with the post-monsoon (0.117 particles/L) period. The higher abundance is attributed to the input of storm-water sewers connected to the lake as well as surface runoff during periods of high rainfall. The concentrations of small-sized (0.3–1 mm) microplastics were greater in both seasons. Approximately 96% of the microplastics were fibres, followed by smaller amounts of fragments, pellets, films, and foams. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was the principal polymer composition of the microplastics, followed by cellulose. The PET and cellulose fibres were mainly derived from the laundering of clothes in the residential colonies and hostels situated close to the lake. The storm-water sewers were the likely conduit for these PET fibres into the lake. The Pollution Load Index (PLI) data reveals that pollution due to microplastics in Lake Manipal falls within the Level I risk category. The PLI was higher during the monsoon season due to an increased flux of these particles from the nearby region. During the post-monsoon period, the PLI values decreased, suggesting that MPs in the water column may have settled and mixed with the sediments. The baseline data generated in this study is important as different types of birds, amphibians, and other microorganisms are present in the environment of Lake Manipal. We also propose certain policy measures that can be adopted by the regional population to mitigate microplastic pollution in the lake and its vicinity.
AB - Hazardous anthropogenic particles, such as microplastics (MPs) in the lake ecosystems, are a serious concern. In this work, we have investigated the seasonal occurrence and distribution of microplastics in the surface water samples of Lake Manipal in southwest India. The concentration of MPs was found to be higher during the monsoon season (0.423 particles/L) in comparison with the post-monsoon (0.117 particles/L) period. The higher abundance is attributed to the input of storm-water sewers connected to the lake as well as surface runoff during periods of high rainfall. The concentrations of small-sized (0.3–1 mm) microplastics were greater in both seasons. Approximately 96% of the microplastics were fibres, followed by smaller amounts of fragments, pellets, films, and foams. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was the principal polymer composition of the microplastics, followed by cellulose. The PET and cellulose fibres were mainly derived from the laundering of clothes in the residential colonies and hostels situated close to the lake. The storm-water sewers were the likely conduit for these PET fibres into the lake. The Pollution Load Index (PLI) data reveals that pollution due to microplastics in Lake Manipal falls within the Level I risk category. The PLI was higher during the monsoon season due to an increased flux of these particles from the nearby region. During the post-monsoon period, the PLI values decreased, suggesting that MPs in the water column may have settled and mixed with the sediments. The baseline data generated in this study is important as different types of birds, amphibians, and other microorganisms are present in the environment of Lake Manipal. We also propose certain policy measures that can be adopted by the regional population to mitigate microplastic pollution in the lake and its vicinity.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134556
DO - 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134556
M3 - Article
C2 - 35429497
AN - SCOPUS:85129290289
SN - 0045-6535
VL - 300
SP - 134556
JO - Chemosphere
JF - Chemosphere
M1 - 134556
ER -
