Lenaker, Peter L.
Corsi, Steven R.
Mason, Sherri A.
20200902
Microplastics in the surficial benthic sediment from Lake Michigan and Lake Erie, 2013 and 2014
.csv files
Madison, WI
U.S. Geological Survey
https://doi.org/10.5066/P9WJUODZ
Peter L. Lenaker
Steven R. Corsi
Sherri A. Mason
20201207
Spatial Distribution of Microplastics in Surficial Benthic Sediment of Lake Michigan and Lake Erie
publication
n/a
American Chemical Society (ACS)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c06087
This dataset describes the quantity, morphology, concentration and polymer identity of microplastics in surficial benthic sediment of Lake Michigan and Lake Erie. Lake Michigan sediment samples were collected at 20 locations in September, 2013 and Lake Erie sediment samples were collected at 12 locations in September, 2014 while on-board the R.V. Lake Guardian. Sampling and analysis methods are described in the Processing Steps section of the metadata.
These data were obtained to assess the variability in the spatial distribution of microplastics in sediment from Lake Michigan and Lake Erie. Understanding the spatial distribution of microplastics is critical to understanding the extent of microplastic contamination in the Great Lakes region. Previous studies on the Great Lakes have generally sampled only the water surface, thus additional information is needed to quantify microplastics presence in benthic sediment. This study was funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)
20130924
20130925
20130926
20130927
20140915
20140916
20140917
20140918
ground condition
None planned
-88.516845703129
-78.673095703522
46.202343559878
41.285733614869
USGS Thesaurus
contamination and pollution
nonpoint-source pollution
USGS Metadata Identifier
USGS:5d4203c6e4b01d82ce8da886
Common geographic areas
Lake Michigan
Lake Erie
none
none
Peter L Lenaker
MIDCONTINENT REGION: UPPER MIDWEST WSC
Physical Scientist
Mailing and Physical
Mail Stop Office 143, 8505 Research Way
Middleton
WI
53562
United States
608-821-3829
plenaker@usgs.gov
Masura, J.
Baker, J.
Foster, G.
Arthur, C.
2015
Laboratory methods for the analysis of microplastics in the marine environment: recommendations for quantifying synthetic particles in waters and sediments
NOAA Technical Memorandum
NOS-OR&R-48
Silver Spring, Maryland
NOAA Marine Debris Division
https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/publications-files/noaa_microplastics_methods_manual.pdf
No formal attribute accuracy tests were conducted
No formal logical accuracy tests were conducted
Data set is considered complete for the information presented, as described in the abstract. Users are advised to read the rest of the metadata record carefully for additional details.
No formal positional accuracy tests were conducted
No formal positional accuracy tests were conducted
Sample Collection: Benthic sediment samples were collected once per lake: September, 2013 for Lake Michigan and September, 2014 for Lake Erie. All samples were collected while on-board the R.V. Lake Guardian. Lake Michigan sediment samples were collected using a ponar dredge sampler, and Lake Erie sediment samples were collected using a multi-corer. Lake Michigan sediment was transferred from the ponar dredge to a stainless-steel pan where a stainless-steel spatula was used to sample approximately the top four centimeters of sediment. After collection, the surficial sediment was composited into a second stainless-steel pan, homogenized, and transferred to a 500 ml baked amber glass bottle and frozen. Lake Erie sediment samples were collected in acrylic coring tubes. Four sediment cores were collected per multi-core cast. Once the sediment cores were removed from the multi-corer, cores were placed on a pneumatic sediment extrusion device to be sectioned into 2-centimeter intervals. The surficial top two centimeters from two different cores were transferred directly into a 500 mL baked amber glass bottle and frozen.
20140918
Laboratory Analysis: All samples were analyzed at Sherri Mason’s laboratory at the State University of New York at Fredonia. Methods are described in detail in Masura et al. 2015, and briefly described here. Each sample from Lake Michigan was filtered through a series of 8-inch diameter sieves of 4.75 mm, 1.00 mm and 0.355 mm stainless steel mesh, separating the solid material into 3 size classifications (0.355-0.999 mm, 1.00-4.749 mm and 4.75 mm). Each sample from Lake Erie was filtered through a series of 8-inch diameter sieves of 1.00 mm, 0.355 mm and 0.125 mm stainless steel mesh, separating the solid material into 3 size classifications (0.125-0.354 mm, 0.355-0.999 mm and >1.00 mm). The solids in each size class were subjected to a wet peroxide oxidation (WPO), which digests labile organic material using 30% hydrogen peroxide in the presence of an iron (II) catalyst. Plastic debris is resistant to this WPO processing. After processing, samples were filtered and, using a 40x dissection microscope, all microplastic particles were removed, enumerated and categorized as fragments (broken down pieces of larger debris such as plastic bottles), pellets/beads (preproduction pellets and microbeads from personal care products and bead blasting), fibers/lines (particles of fishing line and nets, and fibers from synthetic textiles), film (plastic bags and wrappers) or foam (foam cups, take-out containers, packaging).
20160601
Polymer Identification: A subset of particles (Lake Michigan: 9%, Lake Erie: 5.5%) were analyzed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) for polymer identification and confirmation that particles were in fact plastic.
20190401
MIandER_SedData
Comma Separated Value (CSV) file containing data
producer-defined
Lake
Name of lake sampled
Producer defined
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Producer-defined
Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Producer-defined
USGS Site ID
USGS site identifier (also known as station number)
Producer defined
USGS site identifiers
Field ID
Unique sample identifier
Producer defined
First two letters is the abbreviation for the lake sampled. Numbers indicate the sampling location within the lake.
Sample Type
Regular (environmental) sample versus a quality assurance sample (replicate)
producer defined
regular
A regular environmental sample
Producer defined
Replicate
A field replicate
Producer defined
Collection Date
Date of sample collection
Producer defined
Date of sample collection, in MM/DD/YYYY format
Dry Weight (g)
The dry weight of sediment samples, in grams
Producer defined
25
527
grams
Particle Size Category
Size ranges of microplastic particles, in millimeters; long axis
Producer defined
Microplastic particles were sieved by size and grouped into these size ranges for each sample. The "total all" group includes all sizes from specified sample. Lake Michigan and Lake Erie have different size classes.
Count Fragments
The number of microplastic particles identified as fragments
Producer defined
0
57
See "Count Units" column
Count Pellets/Beads
The number of microplastic particles identified as pellets/beads
Producer defined
0
20
See "Count Units" column
Count Fibers/Lines
The number of microplastic particles identified as fibers/lines
Producer defined
0
99
See "Count Units" column
Count Films
The number of microplastic particles identified as films
Producer defined
0
8
See "Count Units" column
Count Foams
The number of microplastic particles identified as foams
Producer defined
0
87
See "Count Units" column
Count Total
The total number of microplastic particles counted, inclusive of all particle morphologies (fragments, pellets/beads, fibers/lines, foams and films)
Producer defined
0
178
See "Count Units" column
Concentration Fragments
The total concentration of fragment-shaped microplastics
Producer defined
0
1266.7
See "Concentration Units" column
Concentration Pellets/Beads
The total concentration of pellet/bead-shaped microplastics
Producer defined
0
606.1
See "Concentration Units" column
Concentration Fibers/Lines
The total concentration of fiber/line-shaped microplastics
Producer defined
0
2200
See "Concentration Units" column
Concentration Films
The total concentration of film-shaped microplastics
Producer defined
0
212.1
See "Concentration Units" column
Concentration Foams
The total concentration of foam-shaped microplastics
Producer defined
0
345.2
See "Concentration Units" column
Concentration Total
The total concentration of microplastics, inclusive of all particle morphologies (fragments, pellets/beads, fibers/lines, foams, films)
Producer defined
0
3955.6
See "Concentration Units" column
Count Units
The units of measure
Producer defined
particles counted per sample
units for microplastic counts
Producer defined
Concentration Units
The units of measure
Producer defined
particles per kilogram dry weight
units for sediment sample concentration
Producer defined
MIandER_FTIR_Summary
Comma Separated Value (CSV) file containing data
Producer defined
Field ID
Unique sample identifier
Producer defined
First two letters is the abbreviation for the lake sampled. Numbers indicate the sampling location within the lake.
n_particles_analyzed_by_FTIR_from_sample
The number of particles from a sample analyzed for polymer identification by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR); does not represent the total number of particles in a sample.
Producer defined
1
14
number of particles
Particle_type
The particle type (morphology)
Producer defined
Foam
Foam-shaped particle morphology
Producer defined
Pellet/Bead
Pellet/Bead-shaped particle morphology
Producer defined
Fiber/Line
Fiber/Line-shaped particle morphology
Producer defined
Fragment
Fragment-shaped particle morphology
Producer defined
Film
Film-shaped particle morphology
Producer defined
Polymer_name
The type of polymer, as determined by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).
Producer defined
The type of polymer, as determined by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).
n_particles_by_polymer
The number of particle morphologies for each polymer type (of the subset of particles in the sample that were analyzed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)).
Producer defined
0
5
Lake
Lake sampled
Producer defined
Erie
Lake Erie
Producer defined
Michigan
Lake Michigan
Producer defined
U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase
Mailing and Physical
Denver Federal Center, Building 810, Mail Stop 302
Denver
CO
80225
USA
1-888-275-8747
sciencebase@usgs.gov
Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty.
20200902
Peter L Lenaker
MIDCONTINENT REGION: UPPER MIDWEST WSC
Physical Scientist
Mailing and Physical
Mail Stop Office 143, 8505 Research Way
Middleton
WI
53562
United States
608-821-3829
plenaker@usgs.gov
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
FGDC-STD-001-1998