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Quantifying anthropogenic microparticle contamination in cave sediments: spatial heterogeneity matters.

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Anthropogenic microparticle pollution, including microplastics, contaminates cave sediments. Spatial variation in contamination is mainly driven by small and medium scales within caves, not between them.

Keywords:
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Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science
  • Geology
  • Ecotoxicology

Background:

  • Anthropogenic microparticle pollution is widespread, impacting even remote ecosystems like natural caves.
  • Data on microparticle concentration in caves are scarce, often lacking sufficient spatial replication.
  • Fragile cave ecosystems may be vulnerable to microparticle contamination impacts.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate spatial variation patterns of microparticle contamination in cave surface sediments.
  • To quantify microparticle concentration and types in two caves in NE Italy.
  • To identify the scales of spatial variation contributing most to microparticle contamination.

Main Methods:

  • Implemented a hierarchical sampling design across large, medium, local, and small scales.
  • Analyzed surface sediment samples from two caves in the Classical Karst region.
  • Quantified microparticle concentration, type (microplastics, cellulose), and relative abundance.

Main Results:

  • Anthropogenic microparticles, predominantly microplastics (PP, PET, PE), were found in all samples (avg. 90.9 items/kg).
  • Microparticle abundance and type varied significantly at the subarea scale within caves.
  • Small and medium scales (subareas and replicates) were the primary contributors to total variability.

Conclusions:

  • Cave microparticle contamination exhibits significant small- and medium-scale spatial heterogeneity.
  • Existing sampling strategies may underestimate microparticle contamination due to scale-dependent variability.
  • More structured sampling designs are needed for reliable microparticle contamination assessment in cave environments.