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Thesis title

Occurrence and Fate of Microplastics in Urban Freshwater Systems.

Summary of the thesis

Plastics are one of the most versatile man-made materials. However, their high consumption and disposal cause major environmental issues. As the production and usage of plastic is concentrated in urban areas, these play a significant role in spreading plastic as a pollutant into the environment. Microplastics (MPs) are small pieces of plastic (< 5 mm) which can be released into water bodies in cities by multiple emission sources, and through diverse routes. To manage the environmental problems of MPs and to identify appropriate mitigation efforts, it is important to understand and gain insight into their occurrence and fate in urban areas. The PhD study investigated the abundance and fate of MPs in urban freshwater systems. Focus was on sediments of stormwater facilities and lakes. The goal was to find trends within MP distribution in the systems and to see if there is patchiness in the MP occurrence pattern or not. Furthermore, studying the governing factors of the observed spatial patterns was part of the aim. The findings of the PhD study contributed to the knowledge of the occurrence and spatial variability of MPs in urban water systems. Moreover, it has shed light on the mechanism driving the transport and migration of buoyant plastic particles in shallow water systems using modelling tools and flume experiments. This further contributes to proof of the concept that transport of MPs in many cases is driven by turbulent mixing, and that this phenomenon must be included in assessment of the fate of MPs in water systems.

Copy of thesis

For a copy of the thesis, please email inst.build.phd@build.aau.dk.