Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115503
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) Estimating plastic pollution in rivers through harmonized monitoring strategies
Author van Emmerik, T.H.M.; Kirschke, S.; Schreyers, L.J.; Nath, S.; Schmidt, C.; Wendt-Potthoff, K. ORCID logo
Source Titel Marine Pollution Bulletin
Year 2023
Department SEEFO; HDG
Volume 196
Page From art. 115503
Language englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Data and Software links https://doi.org/10.4121/21763220
Keywords Macroplastic; Microplastic; Plastics treaty; Water quality; Marine debris; Freshwater
Abstract Plastics in rivers and lakes have direct local impact, and may also reach the world's oceans. Monitoring river plastic pollution is therefore key to quantify, understand and reduce plastics in all aquatic ecosystems. The lack of harmonization between ongoing monitoring efforts compromises the direct comparison and combination of available data. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) launched guidelines on freshwater plastic monitoring, to provide a starting point for practitioners and scientists towards harmonized data collection, analysis, and reporting. We developed a five-step workflow to support to design effective plastic monitoring strategies. The workflow was applied to three rivers (Rhine, Mekong and Odaw) across relevant gradients, including geography, hydrology, and plastic pollution levels. We show that despite the simplicity of the selected methods and the limited duration of the data collection, our harmonized approach provides crucial insights in the state of plastic pollution in very different river basins globally.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=28074
van Emmerik, T.H.M., Kirschke, S., Schreyers, L.J., Nath, S., Schmidt, C., Wendt-Potthoff, K. (2023):
Estimating plastic pollution in rivers through harmonized monitoring strategies
Mar. Pollut. Bull. 196 , art. 115503 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115503