Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Istanbul University, 34134 Vezneciler, Istanbul, Turkey.
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Istanbul University, 34134 Vezneciler, Istanbul, Turkey.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2021 Dec;173(Pt B):113117. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113117. Epub 2021 Nov 9.
Assessment of microplastics (MPs) in sediment cores is necessary to unveil global plastic pollution since most of the plastic litter might have been stored in sediment columns. In the current study, MPs inventory was determined in a 105 cm sediment core, collected in the Golden Horn Estuary, Sea of Marmara. Radiodating of sediment profile by using naturally occurring Pb and fission product Cs allowed us to couple the retrospective of global MP production to sediment MPs inventory. More than 90% of total MPs inventory was found in the deep layer of the sediment column (below 15 cm). Small MPs (20-200 μm) were more abundant than large ones (200-4000 μm). Elevated concentrations of MPs were attributed to industrial and municipal effluent of Istanbul metropolitan. On a local scale, this study suggests that the Golden Horn Estuary was polluted with MPs before the 1950s, and the abundance of MPs reached a maximum in the 1980s. We also propose on a global scale that "the missing" plastics might have been buried in deep sediment and radiodating of sediment is useful to reveal their historical input records.
评估沉积物核心中的微塑料（MPs）对于揭示全球塑料污染至关重要，因为大部分塑料垃圾可能已经储存在沉积柱中。在当前的研究中，在马尔马拉海的金角湾采集了一个 105 厘米的沉积物核心，对 MPs 存量进行了测定。利用天然存在的 Pb 和裂变产物 Cs 对沉积物剖面进行放射性测年，使我们能够将全球 MP 生产的回溯与沉积物 MPs 存量联系起来。超过 90%的总 MPs 存量存在于沉积柱的深层（15 厘米以下）。小 MPs（20-200μm）比大 MPs（200-4000μm）更丰富。MPs 的浓度升高归因于伊斯坦布尔大都市的工业和城市污水。在局部范围内，本研究表明，在 20 世纪 50 年代之前，金角湾就已经受到 MPs 的污染，而在 20 世纪 80 年代，MPs 的丰度达到了最大值。我们还在全球范围内提出，“失踪”的塑料可能已经被埋在深沉积物中，沉积物的放射性测年有助于揭示它们的历史输入记录。
