The use of microplastics as a reliable chronological marker of the Anthropocene onset in Southeastern South America.
Sci Total Environ
; 857(Pt 3): 159633, 2023 Jan 20.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36280064
Microplastics (MPs) represent an emergent contamination marker. For this reason, we analyzed the vertical distribution of MPs in six sediment cores retrieved from the Patos-Mirim System, the world's largest coastal lagoonal system. The sediment cores span from mid Holocene to present times according to both radiocarbon and lead dating and are located close to both urban/industrial and agricultural regions. We identified a basal pre-disturbance MP-free zone in all cores and an uppermost contaminated 70-cm-zone, where a general increasing trend in MPs content resembling the human anthropization process was recorded. The predominant format of MPs was fiber, followed by fragments. The most commonly identified polymers were rayon, PVC, acrylate, polycarbonate and cellophane. Urban/industrial and agricultural activities were shown as clear sources of MPs, leading to comparable MPs concentration values in the sediment cores. Thus, MPs are collectively a reliable indicator of the Anthropocene onset, and in the Patos-Mirim System the most appropriate chronology can be assigned to the beginning of 1970s, matching the intensification of anthropogenic activities in the area.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Poluentes Químicos da Água
/
Microplásticos
Limite:
Humans
País/Região como assunto:
America do sul
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Sci Total Environ
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Brasil
País de publicação:
Holanda