Marine microlitter -activities in the Baltic Sea- HELCOM SPICE Workshop 7-9 September, 2017
Aims regarding microlitter in the Baltic Sea Current lack of operational indicators on marine litter has been • identified as a critical gap in the set of HELCOM core indicators Task: to develop marine litter indicators towards operationalization and • prepare a proposal for the assessment of marine litter in the 2nd holistic assessment For microlitter the focus has put on the development of the indicator of • microlitter in the water column (present status a candidate core indicator) Other options for indicator development are discussed during this • process.
Work plan microlitter in the Baltic Sea Data compilation The project will compile and analyze available information from national • pilot monitoring activities and research projects that have been carried out in the Baltic Sea. A comparison of the data derived from different matrices (i.e. water • column, sediment, biota) and methods for data collection applied will be conducted. Knowledge gaps will be identified • Harmonization Future harmonization of data collection protocols: • the definition of matrices and methods for data collection, and quality assured analyses.
Data compilation A preliminary questionnaire was prepared by EN-litter group already in 2016, aiming to start the work on the indicator of microlitter in the water columnn. This was further supplemented during SPICE project with two data calls. At first aiming to: Include all the available data on the published as well as on-going • studies and surveys on microlitter in the Baltic Sea area Covering different matrices: water surface, water column, sediment, • strandline, biota, sources, other work on microlitter Later another call for complementing the first call with information on the • sampling sites (coordinates) was sent out to EN-litter and to the researchers who had been identified from the first data call
Specific questions Spatial coverage, sampling area covered, study area, coordinates • Number of sampling sites/sea area, sampling frequency if monitoring • When was sampling started/carried out? • What were the sampling equipment ? • What were the sample treatments: extraction, digestion, fractionation? • How the samples were preserved (e.g. use of formaline)? • Microscopy: device, magnification • Additional microscopy: FTIR, Raman etc. • Reference unit (volume, area, weight) • Results, if available, if not when can be expected? • When is data expected to be available (published in some format?) • Is the data available in a national database? • Is the method included in the national POM? •
And some answers Information to the data calls was added by 6/9 countries • Altogether 42 reported studies included were from: • water surface 16, water column 6, sediment 9, strandline 5, biota 13 Almost all the sampling had been categorized either as research activities, • or in some cases pilot monitoring So far no data has been found from Latvia and Lithuania, published work is • available from Russia In overall, most of the work has focused on microplastics, with less interest • towards other materials than synthetic polymers
Sampling and methods (data call) Water surface sampled in 7 countries with surface nets (>300µm) Towing was conducted with a speed of 1-2 kn, 10-60 minutes Pumps were used in two countries, some were also equipped with a series of filters for for collecting different size fractions Volumes differ from a few litres to 20 000L (depending on size fraction aimed) Water column sampling has been tested with various nets (90/100/150 µm) or bulk sampling, includes also historical samples Drying, freezing, HCl, formaline used for water samples Maiju Lehtiniemi
Sampling and methods (data call) Sediment samples have been taken with: Box corers • Van Veen • Tube corers • -and the sample volumes have varied accordingly -no information on the sediment layer or number of parallels was requested Size fractionation has varied between: no fractionation below 5mm to 5 different size fractions between 20 and 500µm Samples have in all cases been frozen
Sample treatments and analyses (data call) Water samples have been treated with H2O2 with additional digestion • with enzymes No methods tested for removing chitin • Historical zooplankton samples have been treated with a digestion solution • (KOH and NaClO) Sediment and sand samples treated both for separating litter and for digesting • organic material Various density separation methods/chemicals have been used, from those • saturated NaCl most common Digestion methods include the use of both acids and bases plus enzymes • Most samples have been pre-sorted with stereomicroscopy • Only in in 11 cases FTIR, Raman or some other additional advanced method • for material characterization was used
Spatial coverage Based on the information received through the data call and other sources, two maps were prepared to show research on the different matrices: Water column and water surface • Sediment • Strandline • 1) Studies going on, but not yet published 2) Already available published information (reports & peer reviewed papers)
Unpublished work
Published work
Conclusions Research and pilot monitoring is actively being carried out in several of • the countries around the Baltic Sea It is fair to expect that after 1-2 years significantly more data will be • available A great deal of that data will not be comparable because of differences in • the sampling and sample processing techniques There is an urgent need to prepare guidelines for monitoring microlitter in • the Baltic Sea
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