Rapid shipboard measurement of net-collected marine microplastic polymer types using near-infrared hyperspectral imaging.

Beck, Aaron J. , Kaandorp, Mikael, Hamm, Thea, Bogner, Boie, Kossel, Elke , Lenz, Mark , Haeckel, Matthias and Achterberg, Eric P. (2023) Rapid shipboard measurement of net-collected marine microplastic polymer types using near-infrared hyperspectral imaging. Open Access Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 415 . pp. 2989-2998. DOI 10.1007/s00216-023-04634-6.

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Abstract

Isolation and detection of microplastics (MP) in marine samples is extremely cost- and labor-intensive, limiting the speed and amount of data that can be collected. In the current work, we describe rapid measurement of net-collected MPs (net mesh size 300 µm) using a benchtop near-infrared hyperspectral imaging system during a research expedition to the subtropical North Atlantic gyre. Suspected plastic particles were identified microscopically and mounted on a black adhesive background. Particles were imaged with a Specim FX17 near-infrared linescan camera and a motorized stage. A particle mapping procedure was built on existing edge-finding algorithms and a polymer identification method developed using spectra from virgin polymer reference materials. This preliminary work focused on polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene as they are less dense than seawater and therefore likely to be found floating in the open ocean. A total of 27 net tows sampled 2534 suspected MP particles that were imaged and analyzed at sea. Approximately 77.1% of particles were identified as polyethylene, followed by polypropylene (9.2%). A small fraction of polystyrene was detected only at one station. Approximately 13.6% of particles were either other plastic polymers or were natural materials visually misidentified as plastics. Particle size distributions for PE and PP particles with a length greater than 1 mm followed an approximate power law relationship with abundance. This method allowed at-sea, near real-time identification of MP polymer types and particle dimensions, and shows great promise for rapid field measurements of microplastics in net-collected samples.

Document Type: Article
Funder compliance: BMBF: 03F0851A ; DFG: GPF 20-3_089
Keywords: Atlantic Ocean, Catamaran net, Gyre, Shipboard analysis
Research affiliation: OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB2 Marine Biogeochemistry > FB2-CH Chemical Oceanography
HGF-FZJ
OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB2 Marine Biogeochemistry > FB2-MG Marine Geosystems
OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB2 Marine Biogeochemistry > FB2-CH Chemical Oceanography > FB2-CH Water column biogeochemistry
OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB3 Marine Ecology > FB3-EOE-B Experimental Ecology - Benthic Ecology
Main POF Topic: PT6: Marine Life
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: Springer
Related URLs:
Projects: HOTMIC
Expeditions/Models/Experiments:
Date Deposited: 22 Mar 2023 08:51
Last Modified: 14 Mar 2024 14:03
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/58238

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