Centennial Records of Microplastics in Lake Cores in Huguangyan Maar Lake, China
ORCID
- Clive E. Sabel: 0000-0001-9180-4861
Abstract
Microplastic records from lake cores can reconstruct the plastic pollution history. However, the associations between anthropogenic activities and microplastic accumulation are not well understood. Huguangyan Maar Lake (HML) is a deep-enclosed lake without inlets and outlets, where the sedimentary environment is ideal for preserving a stable and historical microplastic record. Microplastic (size: 10-500 μm) characteristics in the HML core were identified using the Laser Direct Infrared Imaging system. The earliest detectable microplastics appeared unit in 1955 (1.1 items g-1). The microplastic abundance ranged from n.d. to 615.2 items g-1 in 1955-2019 with an average of 134.9 items g-1. The abundance declined slightly during the 1970s and then increased rapidly after China’s Reform and Opening Up in 1978. Sixteen polymer types were detectable, with polyethylene and polypropylene dominating, accounting for 23.5 and 23.3% of the total abundance, and the size at 10-100 μm accounted for 80%. Socioeconomic factors dominated the microplastic accumulation based on the random forest modeling, and the contributions of GDP per capita, plastic-related industry yield, and total crop yield were, respectively, 13.9, 35.1, and 9.3% between 1955-2019. The total crop yield contribution further increased by 1.7% after 1978. Coarse sediment particles increased with soil erosion exacerbated microplastics discharging into the sediment.
DOI
10.1021/acs.est.4c01970
Publication Date
2024-06-25
Publication Title
Environmental Science and Technology
Volume
58
Issue
25
ISSN
0013-936X
Embargo Period
2025-06-13
Keywords
anthropogenic activities, lake sediment cores, microplastic records, random forest models, stratigraphic markers
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
First Page
11140
Last Page
11151
Recommended Citation
Zhang, Y., He, H., Jin, Z., Ji, Q., Xia, Y., Wang, X., He, M., Yang, Y., Sabel, C., Huang, B., Zhu, F., Shao, M., Xie, E., Yan, G., Li, G., Zhou, A., & Zhang, L. (2024) 'Centennial Records of Microplastics in Lake Cores in Huguangyan Maar Lake, China', Environmental Science and Technology, 58(25), pp. 11140-11151. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c01970
