Microplastics in sediments from Amazon rivers, Brazil

Author(s)

Gerolin, Cristiano Rezende ^[1] ; Pupim, Fabiano Nascimento ^[2] ; Sawakuchi, Andre Oliveira ^[3] ; Grohmann, Carlos Henrique ^[4] ; Labuto, Georgia ^{[1, 5]} ; Semensatto, Decio ^{[1, 2]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Sao Paulo Unifesp, Lab Integrated Sci LabInSci, BR-09972270 Diadema, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Sao Paulo Unifesp, Dept Environm Sci, BR-09972270 Diadema, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Geociencias, BR-05508080 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Energia & Ambiente, BR-05508010 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[5] Univ Fed Sao Paulo Unifesp, Dept Chem, BR-09972270 Diadema, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Science of The Total Environment; v. 749, DEC 20 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

We assessed the concentrations of microplastics in sediment samples collected in seven sites from Solimoes, Negro and Amazon rivers, upstream and downstream the metropolitan region of Manaus. Concentrations ranged from 417 to 8178 particles/kg of dried sediment (microplastics: 0.063-5 mm), and from 0 to 5725 particles/kg of dried sediment (microplastics: 0.063-1 mm). The highest microplastics concentrations were observed in samples from shallow water (water depth of 5-7 m) sites with lower water velocity of the Negro river surrounding Manaus, and the lowest concentration in farthest sample collected in deeper zone (water depth of 34 m) of the Amazon river around 110 km downstream Manaus. The variation of microplastics concentrations within the studied area can be related to hydraulic characteristics defining the erosive-depositional behavior of the sampling sites and their proximity to Manaus. Our results represent the first report to show the ubiquitous presence and widespread distribution of microplastics in sediments from the lower Solimoes, lower Negro and upper Amazon rivers. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/06271-4 - Development of adsorbents from yeast biomass residue from industrial fermentation processes to remove emerging contaminants from water and effluents
• Grantee: Geórgia Christina Labuto Araújo
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 14/23334-4 - Coupling Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and Terrestrial Cosmogenic Nuclides (TCN) analysis to reconstruct changes in the Amazonian fluvial system in the Late Cenozoic (<5 Ma)
• Grantee: Fabiano do Nascimento Pupim
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 11/06609-1 - Provenance, transport and storage of sediments in Amazon rivers
• Grantee: André Oliveira Sawakuchi
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants