Nanoplastic debris can clump in estuaries, forming larger clusters that either settle or stick to solid objects.
As plastic debris weathers in aquatic environments, it can shed tiny nanoplastics. Although scientists have a good understanding of how these particles form, they still don’t have a good grasp of where all the fragments end up. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology have shown experimentally that most nanoplastics in estuarine waters can clump, forming larger clusters that either settle or stick to solid objects, instead of floating on into the ocean.
There is a huge discrepancy between the millions of tons of plastic waste entering rivers and streams and the amount researchers have found in the oceans. As large pieces of plastic break apart into successively smaller fragments on their transit to the sea, some eventually wear down to nano-sized particles. Previous studies have shown that these nanoplastics congregate in well-mixed, stagnant salty water.
Yet, these results do not apply when the particles encounter dynamic changes in salt content, such as estuaries, where rivers carrying freshwater meet tidal saltwater. So, Hervé Tabuteau, Julien Gigault and colleagues wanted to perform laboratory experiments with micro-sized chambers mimicking the conditions measured in an estuary to show how nanoplastics interact and aggregate in this type of environment.
Continue reading at American Chemical Society
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