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Micro- and nanoplastics transfer from seawater to the atmosphere through aerosolization under controlled laboratory conditions
Catarino, A.I.; León, M.C.; Li, Y.; Lambert, S.; Vercauteren, M.; Asselman, J.; Janssen, C.; Everaert, G.; De Rijcke, M. (2023). Micro- and nanoplastics transfer from seawater to the atmosphere through aerosolization under controlled laboratory conditions. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 192: 115015. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115015
In: Marine Pollution Bulletin. Macmillan: London. ISSN 0025-326X; e-ISSN 1879-3363
Peer reviewed article  
Available in  Authors 
  • Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee: Non-open access 389904 [ request ]
  • Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee: Open Marine Archive 408354 [ download pdf ]
Keyword
    Marine/Coastal
Author keywords
    Microplastics; Nanoplastics; Ocean-atmosphere; Airborne; Sea spray aerosols; Mini-Marine Aerosol Reference Tank
Project Top | Authors 
  • PhD Marine bacteria and bacterial endotoxin in sea spray aerosols and potential health effects
Authors  Top 
  • Catarino, A.I.
  • León, M.C.
  • Li, Y.
  • Lambert, S.
  • Vercauteren, M.
  • Asselman, J.
  • Janssen, C.
  • Everaert, G.
  • De Rijcke, M.
Abstract
    Sea spray has been suggested to enable the transfer of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) from the ocean to the atmosphere, but only a few studies support the role of sea spray aerosols (SSAs) as a source of airborne particles. We demonstrated that MNPs are aerosolized during wave action, via SSAs, under controlled laboratory conditions. We used a mini-Marine-Aerosol-Reference-Tank (miniMART), a device that mimics naturally occurring physical mechanisms producing SSAs, and assessed the aerosolization of fluorescent polystyrene beads (0.5-10 μm), in artificial seawater. The SSAs contained up to 18,809 particles/mL of aerosols for 0.5 μm beads, with an enrichment factor of 19-fold, and 1977 particles/mL of aerosols for 10 μm beads with a 2-fold enrichment factor. Our study demonstrates that the use of the miniMART is essential to assess MNPs aerosolization in a standardized way, supporting the hypothesis which states that MNPs in the surface of the ocean may be transferred to the atmosphere.
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