Microplastic in field, river and sea

Plastic litter and small plastic particles is a global problem and can be found from urban centers, rural areas and fields to the aquatic environment such as lakes, rivers and seas. Only little is known on concentration, fate and possible effects of plastic particles on environment and organisms including humans.

Background and Objective

The Thünen Institute investigates several aspects of the topic "plastic in the environment" in different areas of expertise. There are up to now no standardized protocols to analyze plastic in the environment. This leads to the situation that results from different studies could not be easily compared to each other. Some research questions therefore remain still unanswered. This interdisciplinary project aims to unite existing competences and experience on "plastic in the environment".

Approach

Thünen projects on microplastic

• Microplastic in the environment – Analyses of the Warnow catchment
• Microplastic in the environment – Analyses of the Weser catchment
• PlasM - Microplastic in fish
• Plastic in agricultural soil

Data and Methods

Investigations include collection of quantitative data on contamination status of different terrestial and aquatic ecosystems, modelling of transport processes within the ecosystems and possible impact of microplastic on organisms. With this a general view on the the fate of plastic in the environment will be possible.

Our Research Questions

Preliminary Results

There are at the moment no interdisciplinary results available. However, the project can rely on several thematic publications of the contributung Thünen Institutes.

Thünen-Contact

• Kammann, Ulrike Institute of Fisheries Ecology

Involved Thünen-Partners

• Brandes, Elke Institute of Rural Studies
• Brunotte, Joachim Institute of Agricultural Technology
• Henseler, Martin Institute of Rural Studies
• Int-Veen, Ivo Institute of Fisheries Ecology
• Kreins, Peter Institute of Rural Studies
• Rebelein, Anja Institute of Fisheries Ecology
• Thomas, Daniela Institute of Agricultural Technology

Duration

7.2017 - 12.2021

More Information

Projekt type:
Project status: ongoing

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