Microplastic Pollution in an Urban Norwegian River Sediment - An Investigation of Freshwater Sediment Extraction by Elutriation
Abstract
Plastic materials in the environment are the most conspicuous and easily recognisable litter that are of great concern all over the world, including Norway. As these plastic debris continuously break up to even smaller pieces such as microplastics, they become more easily distributed to terrestrial, marine and freshwater environments. These microplastics (< 5 mm) are of great concern due to their long degradation time and that they can accumulate in habitats and be ingested by organisms. The effects of microplastics in the different environments and its effects on organisms are still not well known. Thus, the presence or absence of microplastic pollution is of pressing need specifically were data is lacking, in rivers and terrestrial environments. \n\nSix sediment samples were taken along an urban Norwegian river in Oslo, Akers River to quantify microplastics in freshwater sediment. The first sample was taken at the mouth of a preserved lake, Maridal and the rest of the samples were taken further downstream where the river eventually enters the city of Oslo. There are however currently no standardised techniques for sampling or quantifying microplastics from sediments. Nonetheless, based on Claessens et al (2013) elutriation device (ED) to extract microplastics from marine sediments, freshwater sediments were used for the same purpose. Elutriation is a technique where the upward water flow and gas in a column is used to separate lighter from heavier particles, causing the…
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