Project description
CT scanning and spectroscopy characterise microplastics in the sea environment
Plastic debris is a major source of anthropogenic pollution, with over 5 trillion fragments of microplastic in the world's oceans, leading to harmful and often fatal consequences when ingested by seabirds and marine animals, including hormonal disruption, chemical toxicity, or obstruction of the digestive tract. The EU-funded PLASTICSCAN project will develop a standard method to characterise plastic fragments in the environment, using micro-CT scanning FTIR and Raman spectroscopy to measure physical parameters and chemical properties of individual fragments. The methodology will be applied to an existing collection of over 10 000 plastic fragments extracted from living and dead seabirds over 10 years, and will identify which properties of ingested plastics have the greatest negative impact on seabird physiology and health.
Objective
Plastic debris is now a major source of anthropogenic pollution with >5 trillion fragments of micro-plastic in the world's oceans, and can lead to deleterious and often fatal consequences when ingested by seabirds and other marine animals, including hormonal disruption, chemical toxicity, or obstruction of digestive tract. In this action we propose to develop a standard method for characterisation of plastic fragments in the environment, using a combination of micro-CT scanning and FTIR, Raman spectroscopy to measure both physical parameters (size, shape, surface area) and chemical properties (primary polymers, additives, etc.) of individual fragments. We intend to apply the developed methodology to an existing collection of >10,000 plastic fragments extracted from living and dead seabirds over 10 years, and identify which properties of ingested plastics are associated with the greatest negative impact on seabird physiology and health outcomes. Analysis of preserved seabirds from spirit collections will provide historical context for the onset and rise of plastic contamination in seabirds over recent decades. The effect of environmental aging on plastics will be investigated by laboratory studies of several industrial polymers that comprise a major fraction of marine plastic pollution, identifying the spectroscopic signature of photo-chemical degradation under ambient marine conditions and in the acidic environment of seabird stomachs. With the increasingly ubiquitous presence of plastic debris in the environment, it is more important than ever that we understand the precise mechanisms by which that debris negatively impacts marine life so that we may mitigate those effects.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology ornithology
- humanities history and archaeology history
- natural sciences chemical sciences polymer sciences
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences environmental sciences pollution
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
SW7 5BD London
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.