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Alves FL, Pinheiro LM, Bueno C, Agostini VO, Perez L, Fernandes EHL, Weschenfelder J, Leonhardt A, Domingues M, Pinho GLL, García-Rodríguez F. The use of microplastics as a reliable chronological marker of the Anthropocene onset in Southeastern South America. Sci Total Environ 2023; 857:159633. [PMID: 36280064 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Revised: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- F L Alves
- Instituto de Oceanografia - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - L M Pinheiro
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Geoffrey Pope Building, EX4 4QD, United Kingdom
| | - C Bueno
- Centro Universitario Regional del Este (CURE), Universidad de la República, Rocha, Uruguay
| | - V O Agostini
- Regenera Moléculas do Mar, Prédio 43421, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500 - 117 - Agronomia, Porto Alegre, RS 91501-970, Brazil
| | - L Perez
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Geoffrey Pope Building, EX4 4QD, United Kingdom
| | - E H L Fernandes
- Instituto de Oceanografia - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - J Weschenfelder
- Centro de Estudos de Geologia Costeira e Oceânica, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - A Leonhardt
- Instituto de Oceanografia - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - M Domingues
- Instituto de Ciências Humanas e da Informação (ICHI), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - G L L Pinho
- Instituto de Oceanografia - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - F García-Rodríguez
- Instituto de Oceanografia - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brazil; College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Geoffrey Pope Building, EX4 4QD, United Kingdom.
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Bueno C, Alves FL, Pinheiro LM, Perez L, Agostini VO, Fernandes EHL, Möller OO, Weschenfelder J, Pinho GLL, Wallner-Kersanach M, Moura RR, Durán JM, Etchevers I, Costa LDF, Werlang CC, Bortolin E, Machado E, Figueira RCL, Ferreira PAL, Andrade C, Fornaro L, García-Rodríguez F. The effect of agricultural intensification and water-locking on the world's largest coastal lagoonal system. Sci Total Environ 2021; 801:149664. [PMID: 34418619 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Revised: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The palaeolimnological conditions of Mirim Lagoon, a large coastal shallow lagoon under the influence of historical human impacts related to the development of the primary sector of the economy were reconstructed. The first significant human impact consisted of locking the estuarine system to induce the transition from brackish to freshwater conditions. During this transition, the sedimentation rate consistently increased from pre-disturbance values of 0.25 cm yr-1 to >1 cm yr-1. A concomitant increase in nitrogen and carbon values was recorded indicating a related eutrophication process. The highest nutrient levels were achieved during the 1990s after the incorporation of cutting-edge technologies for agricultural production such as high-yielding varieties of rice resistant to climate variability and pests, and the use of inorganic fertilisers, pesticides and water supply controlled by irrigation. After 2011, the soybean production boosted and the area cultivated with this oilseed equalled the area of rice paddies, i.e., 2 × 105 ha. A sharp decrease in δ13C from -19 to -24‰ and in δ15N from 6 to 2‰ were observed in the sedimentary record, indicating a major shift in the composition of the organic matter after the agricultural intensification. Trace elements Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn showed a high positive correlation with Al and Fe, and enrichment factors near 1, indicating a natural and terrigenous source of these elements and also unpolluted conditions. However, the increase of As after 1990 and the positive correlation with Pb was associated with agricultural practices. All elemental ratios (K/Al, Ti/Al and V/Cr) showed constant pre-disturbance trends and a turning point ca. the 1990s. Microplastics were detected from the beginning of the 1990s and increased towards recent sediments, thus corroborating an anthropogenically impacted scenario. Therefore, the development of the primary sector of the economy exerted clear impacts on the environmental quality of the system.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Bueno
- Oceanografía y Ecología Marina, Instituto de Ecología y Ciencias Ambientales, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Iguá 4225, Montevideo, Uruguay.
| | - F L Alves
- Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - L M Pinheiro
- Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - L Perez
- Centro Universitario Regional del Este (CURE), Universidad de la República, Rocha, Uruguay
| | - V O Agostini
- Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - E H L Fernandes
- Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - O O Möller
- Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - J Weschenfelder
- Centro de Estudos de Geologia Costeira e Oceânica, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - G L L Pinho
- Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - M Wallner-Kersanach
- Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - R R Moura
- Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - J M Durán
- Facultad de Administración y Ciencias Sociales, Universidad ORT, Uruguay
| | - I Etchevers
- Centro Universitario Regional del Este (CURE), Universidad de la República, Rocha, Uruguay
| | - L D F Costa
- Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - C C Werlang
- Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - E Bortolin
- Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - E Machado
- Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - R C L Figueira
- Laboratório de Química Inorgânica Marinha, Instituto Oceanográfico, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - P A L Ferreira
- Laboratório de Química Inorgânica Marinha, Instituto Oceanográfico, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - C Andrade
- Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - L Fornaro
- Centro Universitario Regional del Este (CURE), Universidad de la República, Rocha, Uruguay
| | - F García-Rodríguez
- Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brazil; Centro Universitario Regional del Este (CURE), Universidad de la República, Rocha, Uruguay
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