Cukurova University, Faculty of Fisheries

Project name:
Determination of the Current State of Microplastic Pollution in the Sandy Beaches around Iskenderun Bay (MICROBEACH)

Cukurova University, Faculty of Fisheries
Cukurova University, Faculty of Fisheries

Project description:
The main purpose of MICROBEACH project is monitoring of microplastics on beaches of Iskenderun Bay. With this project, we are trying to understand in detail what microplastic pollution is in sandy beaches around Iskenderun Bay (i), to explain what is relationship between distance from river mouth with microplastic concentration (ii),    to show difference of microplastic pollution between protected beaches and non-protected beaches (iii), to understand effect of tourism activities on microplastic concentration (iv), to establish the pollution status of areas such as Chelonia mydas, Caretta caretta and Ocypode cursor used as habitat or nesting (v) and finally to raise awareness about microplastics pollution.

https://suf.cu.edu.tr/Eng/Default.aspx
www.mikroplastik.org
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sedat_Guendogdu

Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), University of Münster, Institute of Landscape Ecology (ILÖK), Institute of molecular microbiology and biotechnology (IMMB), University of Bielefeld, University of Potsdam, Ecossa and Mesocosm GmbH

Project name:
MikroPlaTaS – Microplastics in Dams and Reservoirs: Sedimentation, Spread, Effects

Project description:
The spread of microplastics in rivers shows that along a given watershed there are not only sources but also sinks or repositories. Thus, dams and resevoirs constitute important (but heretofore hardly investigated) parts of a water system in the sense that they serve as examples for risk vs. usefulness of sedimentation of microplastics. Biofilms, which grow on microplastics, have a special significance for their transport and sedimentation.

The goals of this project are

  • to identify and characterise microplastic in water and sediment
  • to understand how biofilms form on plastic and how sedimentation occurs on these grown-over particles
  • to record how microplastics affect and are taken up by individual organisms as well as by entire communities in model ecosystems and
  • to synthesise the scientific results and draft practical recommendations based on them.

This synthesis should emphasise identifying pathways to eliminate microplastics and to derive practical measures and risk analyses together with the associated partners.

https://www.uni-muenster.de/Mikroplatas/en/
https://bmbf-plastik.de/en/joint-project/mikroplatas

IfBB – Institute for Bioplastics and Biocomposites, University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Hannover

IfBB – Institute for Bioplastics and Biocomposites, University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Hannover

Project name:
SeaArt – Long term establishment of SEAgrass ecosystems through biodegradable ARTificial meadows

Project “SeaArt”
Project “SeaArt”

Project description:
The project “SeaArt” explores the advancement of the long-term establishment of natural seagrass ecosystems under the protection of marine biodegradable artificial meadows.

Seagrass meadows are important ecosystems of the seas, offering coastal protection against erosion and providing breeding grounds for many marine organisms. However, they are simultaneously seriously endangered and threatened by decline. The re-establishment of seagrass is problematic, as without established areas of seagrass, hydrodynamic energy and turbidity increase, which in turn prevents seagrass growth.

The task of the IfBB is the development of materials, which are suitable for the production of an artificial seagrass adopting the ecosystem service of natural seagrass. Both biodegradable plastics and natural materials (e.g. plant fibres), or combinations of both, are characterised with respect to their suitability in terms of degradation, technical and mechanical properties and applicable production methods. A key property for all materials used for the ASG is biodegradation under marine conditions, which is currently unknown for most commercially available biodegradable materials (either natural or bioplastic). Respirometric measurements in bottles as well as in mesocosms are being carried out to estimate the biodegradation behaviour of the different materials in a comparative study. The degradation experiments will also consider the chemical composition of residues and potential environmental impacts of intermediate stages of disintegration. This assessment will ensure that utilised materials will not be harmful to marine life at any stage of the ASG life cycle.

“SeaArt” is a joint project together with the Leibniz University Hannover under the direction of the Institute for Geoecology of the Technical University of Braunschweig and is funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture within the framework of the Volkswagen Foundation “Niedersächsiches Vorab” funding initiative.

www.sea-art.org/en

www.ifbb-hannover.de/en

Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences

Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences
Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences

Project name:
Litter rim of the Baltic Sea coast: monitoring, impact, and remediation (BalticLitter)

Project description:
Micro-, meso-, and macro-litter along the Russian, Estonian, and German marine beaches will be monitored using the unified methodology, which will also be tested on the coasts lagoons, estuaries, and river mouths of the partner countries. Migrations of marine litter between the beach and underwater slope will be investigated, with emphasis on observations of massive litter beaching after stormy events. Link between marine litter and human pathogens will be examined. An impact of presence and migrations of litter in sea coastal zone on benthic ecosystems in coastal marine environment will be investigated in microcosm experiments. Numerical modeling will be applied to relate the amount and distribution of the beached litter to hydrophysical and meteorological conditions, allowing for the development of a new monitoring methods and a strategy for more effective cleaning of the sea coastal zone. The expected results include (i) implementation of the unified methods of the beach litter monitoring on the marine coasts of the three partner countries; (ii) results of testing of this methodology for coasts of lagoons and river mouths/estuaries, with development of specific recommendations; (iii) joint data base for the amount, distribution, and composition of the beach litter for all the monitored coasts; (iv) observational evidence and modeling substantiation of the linkage between external physical forcings and amount and composition of the beached litter; (v) development of physically-based strategy for cleaning of the coasts after stormy events; (vi) results of investigation of functioning of microbial biofilms on different sorts of plastic, disclosing the relationship between litter and human-pathogens; (vii) results of mesocosms experiments on effects of marine meso and macrolitter on benthic ecosystem; (viii) dissemination of the results via scientific publications, developed highschool teaching course, and public beach-cleaning campaigns in the partner countries.

Related links:
https://ocean.ru/en/

https://www.researchgate.net/project/Litter-rim-of-the-Baltic-Sea-coast-monitoring-impact-and-remediation-BalticLitter

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Irina_Chubarenko2

ISOE – Institute for Social-Ecological Research

Project name:
PlastX – Researching Plastics in the Environment from a Social-Ecological Perspective

Project description:
Plastics are an ambivalent material. Due to their versatile properties, plastics are by now used in all areas of economy and everyday life. Their durability, however, also causes an accumulation in the environment. Mismanaged plastics enter rivers and oceans, where they degrade into microplastics and are taken up by aquatic organisms. Impacts on ecosystems and humans are not well understood. Due to the complexity and globality of the phenomenon, the research group “PlastX” conceives plastics as a systemic risk for social-ecological supply systems.

The management of systemic risks such as plastics requires new forms of cooperation between actors in science, politics and civil society. Therefore, PlastX has an inter- and transdisciplinary research approach. The research comprises the societal role of plastics and their effects on the environment, focusing on five research fields:

  • Consumption practices regarding plastic packaging and sustainable bridging practices in the food supply chain
  • Alternatives to conventional plastics, e.g. bioplastics
  • Global regulation and local action to combat marine litter
  • Environmental risk assessment of microplastics in freshwaters
  • Systemic risk analysis of macro- and microplastics in the environment

The research group is based at the ISOE – Institute for Social-Ecological Research with the Goethe University Frankfurt and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research as partnering institutions. PlastX is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF).

Related links:
www.plastx.org
www.isoe.de

University of Freiburg, Hydrology

Bachelor Theses on:

  • A case study of tire wear particles in the Dreisam river (Freiburg, Germany)
  • Comparison of microplastic pollution of treated wastewater and river water of the Dreisam river (Freiburg, Germany)
  • Determining the status quo of microplastic pollution in the Dreisam river (Freiburg, Germany)

Project description:

University of Freiburg, Hydrology
University of Freiburg, Hydrology

Our current research aims to determine the status quo of microplastic pollution in the Dreisam river (Freiburg, Germany). Three independent Bachelor Theses are studying how vulnerable the river is to microplastic pollution, where hotspots are, whether wastewater treatment is effectively removing microplastics, and whether tire wear particles are a major source of microplastics.

Further Information (german language):
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/de/fachbeitrag/aktuell/mikroplastik-in-gewaessern-minimuell-als-maxiproblem/

 

Thünen Institute of Baltic Sea Fisheries

Thünen Institute of Baltic Sea Fisheries
Thünen Institute of Baltic Sea Fisheries

Project name:
DropS – Reduction of plastic waste from beam trawl fishery through gear modifications

Project description:
On the shores of the North Sea, colorful, mostly orange or blue threads, ropes or balls are particularly visible during a boat trip or while walking on the beach. Although the origin of plastic waste is often difficult to determine, it is likely that a large proportion of these colored plastic fibers originate from bottom trawling. Especially in the beam trawl fisheries directed to sole and North Sea shrimps, the nets are dragged very close to the ground due to the design. To protect the bottom side of the gear, it is often provided with abrasion protection. One of the most common materials used as scuff protection in bottom trawling are the so-called „dolly ropes“. These are Polyethylene ropes (PE ropes), which are cut to size by the fishermen and woven into the net material. During fishing, the dolly ropes fray very easily and parts of it break off.  Within two weeks 10 to 25% of the material has already been torn off. After this time, the remaining cords become tangled or entangled, reduce their flexibility and cause sand and gravel to clog. As a result, the remaining dolly ropes are replaced. The aim of this project is to develop and test trawl gear modifications that reduce or prevent the contact of the gear with the seabed, thus making the use of dolly ropes as abrasion protection superfluous. Initially we will focus on the shrimp fishery in the North Sea.

Related links:
https://www.thuenen.de/en/of/projects/fisheries-and-survey-technology/dollyrope-suspension-reduction-of-plastic-waste-from-beam-trawl-fishery-through-gear-modifications/

Contact data:

Federal Institute of Paraná

Project name:
Transboundary movement of marine litter in an estuarine gradient: Evaluating sources and sinks using hydrodynamic modelling and ground truthing estimates

Project description:
The project aims at understanding marine debris’ transboundary nature and new strategies to identify sources and sinks in coastal areas. The study area the Paranaguá Estuarine Complex (PEC), southern Brazil, which is an UNESCO World Heritage-listed Site. The study integrates hydrodynamic modelling, ground truthing estimates and regressive vectorial analysis. Also, the environmental impacts to marine protected areas, and the socioeconomic impacts to tourism are investigated through long-term monitoring and Questionnaire-Based Surveys. Results indicate:

  1. Temporary permanence of litter inside the complex is followed by exiting to oceanic beaches;
  2. Ocean acts as buffer for marine debris from the PEC but not a source to PEC;
  3. Domestic sourced items had a proportionally higher presence in the internal sector;
  4. Unknown sourced/plastic fragments were found in higher proportion in external beaches;
  5. Modelling contributes to the understanding of marine debris transboundary dynamics;
  6. More than 85% of beachgoers would avoid a beach visit if more than 15items/m2 were observed and most users would choose a neighboring state beach destination;
  7. Stranded litter may potentially reduce local tourism income by 39.1%, representing losses of up to US$ 8.5 million per year for a single 25-thousand-inhabitant municipality.

Related links:
http://paranagua.ifpr.edu.br
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Allan_Krelling
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X17301689
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X17302527

 

National Research and Development Institute for Marine Geology and Geoecology – GeoEcoMar

National Research and Development Institute for Marine Geology and Geoecology – GeoEcoMar
National Research and Development Institute for Marine Geology and Geoecology – GeoEcoMar

Project name:
Studies of microplastic particles from modern sediments from macro-geo-system Danube River-Danube Delta-Black Sea Coast-Black Sea

Project description:
This project proposal mainly aims an assessment of the microplastic particle pollution degree in certain areas from the Lower Segment of Danube River, Romanian Danube Delta, Western Black Sea Coast and Black Sea. Locations from these areas have been already studied, such as the Iron Gates Area, Sulina and Sf. Gheorghe arms, various lakes and delta channels or the coastal zone (in the proximity of the main Romanian Black Sea ports) and other areas that are considered to be excessively affected by waste pollution or which are considered protected areas. Comparison of annual values of microplastic particles abundances in the same areas of study will be considered viable in order to obtain annual monitoring for high importance or critical areas. At the same time, it is desirable that through this project and its results it will be promoted this field of plastic issue, this way starting a new trend among Romanian researchers, but also for the awareness of the population of this country.

National Research Council, Water Research Institute, Bari, Italy

National Research Council, Water Research Institute, Bari, Italy
National Research Council, Water Research Institute, Bari, Italy

Project name:
MICROPLASMA – MI
cro and maCRO PLAStic pollution Monitoring with Advanced technologies

Project description:
The main purpose of MICROPLASMA project is to set up a monitoring system of plastic wastes (macro and microplastics) on beaches of Barletta city and along Ofanto river (South Italy). The microplastics monitoring will be realized by creating a floating station equipped with an innovative selective sampler of microplastics that will perform a continuous, automatic and systematic sampling of MPs in order to understand possible spatial and temporal trends related to the presence of urban and industrial wastewater and to rainy events. The system will be also connected to a multi-parametric probe that will give information about the chemical-physical parameters of the water. The validation and acquisition of data will also be carried out using remote sensing techniques based on hyperspectral and thermal airborne sensors that will allow an analysis of the spatial and temporal dynamics of some water quality parameters such as turbidity and sediment dispersion at the Ofanto mouth. The macroplastic monitoring system will be based on the “visual census” method. Information on the description, GPS position, photos and videos of the observed waste will be collected by citizens and associations through the use of a smartphone application made ad hoc.