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Microplastic characteristics in stormwater pond water

Description: Microplastics (MPs), or plastic particles that are less than 5 mm in diameter, are an emerging threat to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems because of their potential toxicity and their resistance to degradation. In urban watersheds, stormwater runoff is a major carrier of MPs to downstream water bodies, which often drains into green infrastructure such as stormwater ponds (SWPs). The existing evidence indicates that SWPs may be effective at reducing the export loads of MPs from urban areas. However, the effectiveness of SWPs in retaining MPs and the controls on their accumulation in SWPs remain understudied. To investigate MP occurrence and factors controlling MP distribution in the SWP water column, we collected water samples from five stormwater ponds with different land uses in their catchment area. Water samples were collected from the water column near the pond outlet for every month from February 2023 to December 2023. Microplastics were extracted from the samples and characterized using laser direct infrared imaging spectroscopy. Results and findings from the analysis of this data are reported in Controls on microplastic accumulation in stormwater pond water (pending submission, DOI: TBD).
Notes: This dataset will be cited by a manuscript in preparation.
Authors: Nguyen, Thu Hang; University of Waterloo; ORCID iD 0000-0002-6806-5842
Rezanezhad, Fereidoun; University of Waterloo; ORCID iD 0000-0002-9608-8005
Slowinski, Stephanie; University of Waterloo; ORCID iD 0000-0001-5090-441X
Reshadi, Mir Amir Mohammad; University of Waterloo; ORCID iD 0000-0001-7975-5083
Van Cappellen, Philippe; University of Waterloo; ORCID iD 0000-0001-5476-0820
Keywords: microplastic
stormwater pond
water column
microplastic partitioning
microplastic distribution
Field of Research: 
Earth and related environmental sciences
>
Geochemistry
>
Environmental geochemistry
Publication Date: 2025-06-01
Publisher: Federated Research Data Repository / dépôt fédéré de données de recherche
Funder: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council; ALLRP 558435 – 20
Canada Excellence Research Chairs
Global Water Futures
URI: https://doi.org/10.20383/103.0985
Related Identifiers: 
This dataset continues
Geographic Coverage: 
City
Kitchener
Province /
Province / Territory
Ontario
Territory
 
Country
Canada

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Access to this dataset is subject to the following terms:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Citation
Nguyen, T., Rezanezhad, F., Slowinski, S., Reshadi, M., Van Cappellen, P. (2025). Microplastic characteristics in stormwater pond water. Federated Research Data Repository. https://doi.org/10.20383/103.0985