Project description
Impact of microplastics on soils
Microplastic pollution of the marine environment has received considerable attention, but microplastics also threaten the soil environment. The underlying mechanisms and wider impacts are poorly understood. The EU-funded TRAMPAS project will fill this knowledge gap by exploring whether microplastics increase the hydrophobicity of the soil pore surface, thereby increasing the movement of potentially pathogenic microorganisms. The initiative will address two challenges of societal importance: microplastic pollution and pathogen fate in the environment. Researchers will first quantify how climatic stresses and soil properties interact with microplastics to induce hydrophobicity and conduct leaching experiments using synthesised DNA. Scientists will then measure soil pore scale processes using microfluidics and explore the formation of microbial colonised microplastics (the plastisphere).
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF
Coordinator
AB24 3FX Aberdeen
United Kingdom
See on map