河口微塑料| 是不是今天-澳门葡京网赌游戏

收集当地河口微塑料的基线数据有助于预测大湾区的未来

星期三，2024年6月19日

主要研究 Research Technician Grant McKown ’21G uses a manta trawl to sample the shallows of the Blackwater River in Seabrook, NH.
主要研究生命科学与农业学院 masters students Creightanya Brewley and Hanna Mogensen filter manta trawl water samples for microplastic analysis at the mouth of the Hampton-Seabrook Estuary.
从大海湾河口的水样本中提取的浓缩微塑料的假彩色图像.
Graduate student Taja Sims-Harper and undergraduate scholar Kennedy McGrath setting up equipment for isolating microplastics.
主要研究 alum Hanna Mogensen ’23G (standing) collecting a marsh sediment sample with assistance from undergraduate student and Doyle Fellow Kayla Tosier at the Hampton-Seabrook Estuary.

主要研究发现

在新英格兰北部的河口, 微塑料最有可能积聚在水流较弱的地区, 水下植被和有限的海底侵蚀.

绰号“海洋托儿所”，河口为许多动物提供了重要的筑巢和繁殖地, help clean and filter ocean waters and support a growing shellfish aquaculture sector in northern New England. They have also increasingly begun to play a central role in the movement of microplastics between fresh and saltwater watersheds, 对植物的恢复力有潜在的影响, 依赖健康河口生态系统的动物和经济. To determine the extent to which microplastics could impact New England estuaries first requires an understanding of how these tiny particles move and accumulate throughout the waterbody—a main research goal of 科学家s at the University of New Hampshire.

研究这个问题的研究人员包括新罕布什尔州农业实验站科学家邦妮布朗生物科学系教授兼系主任格雷格·摩尔他是海岸恢复和恢复力的副教授主要研究生命科学与农业学院 (COLSA). They are investigating the accumulation of microplastics within some of the region’s most important estuarine environments: New Hampshire’s 大湾, Hampton-Seabrook河口以及新英格兰地区最大的盐沼大沼泽在马萨诸塞州. They hope the data they gather help develop predictive models that can indicate where and when the greatest concentrations of microplastics will occur, potentially offering guidance to recreational and commercial fishermen and seafood farmers on how areas with high concentrations of microplastics.

“我们的数据被用于确定微塑料来源的模型中, 如果它们定居在哪里，它们需要多长时间才能离开生态系统,布朗解释道. “Knowing the types and locations of microplastics allows us to evaluate the realistic levels of risk that estuarine microplastics pose in New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts estuaries and to help resource users and managers, 包括水产养殖者, 钓鱼者和休闲主义者, 它们都依赖于这些河口环境, 了解微塑料的起源和命运.”

虽然澳门葡京网赌游戏它们对人类和动物健康影响的研究尚处于起步阶段, 微塑料——小于0.04 inches (roughly the size of a medium-sized grain of sand and smaller)—represent potentially serious threats. 在淡水和咸水栖息地, 它们对渔业和水产养殖业的影响尤其严重. 例如, 在对密歇根湖支流中发现的11种不同鱼类的研究中发现的, 85%被研究的鱼含有微塑料. 以便更好地了解微塑料风险最高的地方, 棕色（的）, Moore and researchers from both of their labs recently published a study examining the distribution of microplastics in the three estuarine environments, 为资源提供一个模型, 通过分水岭的运动和粒子的最终位置. 他们的论文发表在 水新兴污染物和纳米塑料.

一组四张地图, 从左到右, showing the sites of the three estuaries studied and then showing sampled sites at 大湾 Estuary, 汉普顿-西布鲁克河口, 以及大沼泽河口. — 从左到右, a map showing the sites of the three estuaries studied; three maps showing sampled sites at 大湾 estuary, 汉普顿-西布鲁克河口, 以及大沼泽河口. 点击地图查看大图.

研究结果表明，微塑料会在水流较弱的地区积聚, 水下植被和有限的海底侵蚀. 研究人员还确定汉普顿-西布鲁克河口, 最小的河口取样, 微塑料的数量是否明显高于其他两个河口, 可能是由于较大的河口环境中的水被迅速冲刷. 另一个重要的结果是 Taja Sims-Harper，博士研究生 COLSA的海洋生物学项目正在建立一个基线，用于比较河口环境中微塑料的水平.

有了这些信息, realistic numbers of microplastics can be used in our experiments on the uptake and elimination of microplastics from aquatic living resources,Sims-Harper补充道. “另外, 尽管我们使用了多种不同的抽样方法(每种方法都有其局限性), our set of studies offered a remarkably consistent baseline for the presence and types of microplastics in these New England estuaries.”

根据摩尔的说法，自然的沿海栖息地经常会捕获和保留微塑料. 然而, 目前还不清楚有多少塑料残留在这些栖息地中, 也不知道它们的潜在影响是什么.

“In the same way that native marsh grasses buffer coastal energy to trap suspended sediments in tidal waters, 这种机制也能捕获悬浮的微塑料,他说. 也许是无意的, 这种自然过程可能会帮助大多数人掩埋微塑料, 但并非全部, 生物过程.”

然而, 目前还不清楚有多少塑料残留在这些栖息地中也不知道它们的潜在影响是什么.

“更重要的是, we do not know how these plastics may affect the living organisms in them or the more abiotic ecosystem components like the water or soil,摩尔补充道. “我们需要确定哪些河口, 以及它们的栖息地, 捕获最多的微塑料.”

这项最新的研究补充了棕色（的）和Moore之前的建模合作汤姆·李普曼地球科学和海洋工程教授主要研究工程与物理科学学院大海湾底部沉积物中的微塑料.

他们2021年的研究 indicated that more microplastics accumulate in areas where the water flow and bed shear stress (a measure of various forces, 包括水流, 摩擦力和重力, 这对海底沉积物运输的影响较弱, 比如在鳗草草地和河口边缘. 使用布朗在河口的新微塑料基线测量, study found that microplastic variation in the estuarine waters and sediments can be attributed to several factors, 比如支流的数量, 塑料类型, 附近人口密度, 风暴, 水的深度, 潮汐和降水. 随着对微塑料的研究越来越多, modeling predictions will become more accurate and should offer a better understanding of how microplastics affect these irreplaceable ecosystems.

新罕布什尔州的大海湾河口是该国28个“国家级重要河口”之一根据美国环保署的说法. 这个2,000-acre-plus estuary provides a key habitat for many fish and wildlife species and draws tourism with its fishing and hiking opportunities. 近年来，大湾河口已成为重要的贝类养殖和恢复地, with 科学家s and conservation agencies working together to restore hundreds of acres of oyster reefs, 帮助改善水质和启动本地牡蛎生长. 河口及其支流的健康状况紧密相连，大海湾也不例外. 多条河流汇入大海湾, 包括七鳃鳗, Winnicut, Squamscott, 和牡蛎河, 创造跨越1的分水岭,000 square miles in southeastern New Hampshire and connecting everyone living and working in that watershed to the health of 大湾 Estuary.

还研究了, Hampton-Seabrook Estuary is New Hampshire’s largest salt marsh and 大沼泽 Estuary is New England’s largest estuary, 绵延整个马萨诸塞州北岸. 这两个河口都是候鸟重要的繁殖栖息地. Protecting these habitats—for plant and animal species that exclusively rely on estuaries; for human use; and for fisheries and aquaculture industries—is a key goal of University of New Hampshire researchers.

This material is based on work supported by the NH农业试验站 through joint funding from the 美国农业部国家粮食和农业研究所 (根据哈奇奖编号1023564)和新罕布什尔州. 额外的支持来自联合国大学海洋科学与海洋工程学院; 新罕布什尔海洋补助金根据美国国家海洋和大气管理局颁发的. NA18OAR4170090; and the 梅里马克山谷规划委员会.