Description du projet
Incidence des microplastiques sur les sols
Si la pollution de l’environnement marin par les microplastiques a fait l’objet de beaucoup d’attention, les microplastiques menacent également l’environnement édaphique. Les mécanismes sous-jacents et les conséquences plus générales demeurent mal compris. Le projet TRAMPAS, financé par l’UE, comblera ce manque de connaissances en déterminant si les microplastiques augmentent l’hydrophobie de l’espace poral du sol, favorisant ainsi la circulation de micro-organismes potentiellement pathogènes. Cette initiative relèvera deux défis qui revêtent une importance pour la société: la pollution par les microplastiques et le devenir des pathogènes dans l’environnement. Les chercheurs vont d’abord quantifier la manière dont les contraintes climatiques et les propriétés du sol interagissent avec les microplastiques pour induire l’hydrophobie et mener des expériences de lixiviation à l’aide d’ADN synthétisé. Les scientifiques mesureront ensuite les processus à l’œuvre à l’échelle des pores du sol en ayant recours à la microfluidique et étudieront la formation des microplastiques colonisés par des microbes (la plastisphère).
Objectif
Microplastic pollution has received considerable attention for the marine environment, but hidden out of sight are microplastics in soil. In Europe alone, there are likely more microplastics in soil than in all the world’s oceans. Microplastics can adversely affect soils, but the underlying mechanisms and wider impacts are poorly understood. A significant impact could be increased hydrophobicity of the soil pore surface, which can increase the movement of potentially pathogenic microorganisms. I found that the concentration of microplastics and soil temperature increase the soil-water contact angle, a measure of hydrophobicity. This project will explore how microplastics influence soil through the development of hydrophobicity and the impacts to bacteria and virus transport and retention. It builds on my recent research that was the first to link the development of soil hydrophobicity with increased leaching of bacteria. Two challenges of societal importance are addressed: (1) microplastic pollution and (2) pathogen fate in the environment.
I will bring together a range of approaches, starting first with quantifying how climatic stresses and soil properties interact with microplastics to induce hydrophobicity. This will be followed by leaching experiments, where microbial retention and leaching will be tracked with a novel approach using synthesised DNA. Soil pore scale processes will be measured using microfluidics, where the spread and retention of microbes and water can be visualised directly under highly controlled conditions. Finally, I will study microplastic contaminated soil, exploring the formation of microbial colonised microplastics – the ‘plastisphere’.
Working with a strong multidisciplinary team I will gain excellent training in state-of-the-art analysis approaches. By using highly visual approaches in my research, such as microfluidics, I will be able to demonstrate its impact to a range of audiences, from the public, through policy, to scientists.
Champ scientifique
Mots‑clés
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinateur
AB24 3FX ABERDEEN
Royaume-Uni