Work Package 1: Microplastics in aquifers across the globe











Rationale
There is initial evidence for the arrival of microplastic contamination in groundwater but the magnitude of the spatial extent of groundwater pollution globally is currently unknown and the potential for up-scaling from previous research is limited. The critical lack of a systematic groundwater survey using a standardized methodology impedes our understanding of how microplastic concentrations and composition vary globally in groundwaters, preventing any interpretation of input sources, transport mechanisms and residence time distributions and thus future trends.

Research question
What is the global distribution of microplastics in groundwater, how do their concentrations, physical and chemical properties differ in relation to aquifer
properties and prevalence of primary and secondary microplastic sources
and known surface loadings of plastic waste?

Objective
Determine the worldwide magnitude, and establish the first global baseline of, microplastic contamination of groundwater ecosystems.

Methods
Collaborators will sample groundwater microplastics, water and fauna from >50 aquifers across the globe, covering a range of major geologies using a standardised protocol. Samples will be shipped to University of Roehampton/ University of Birmingham where abundance, type and degree of degradation of microplastics in the sampled groundwater and groundwater biota will be determined using a range of techniques including nile red staining and fluorescence microscopy and TGA-FTIR-GCMS We will also determine the size and concentration of ingested microplastic particles for organisms grouped into size classes. We will then use an allometric scaling approach to determine whether microplastics bioaccumulate and/or biomagnify through groundwater food webs across the globe.

Work Package lead
Professor Anne Robertson
a.robertson@roehampton.ac.uk