Did the COVID-19 pandemic play a role in the spatial and temporal variations of microplastics? Evidence from a tropical river in southern India.

Kaniyambadi Amrutha, Anish Kumar Warrier, Nelson Rangel-Buitrago

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Marine pollution bulletin, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Kaniyambadi AmruthaDepartment of Sciences, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal 576104, Karnataka, India; Department of Civil Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal 576104, Karnataka, India.

Anish Kumar WarrierDepartment of Civil Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal 576104, Karnataka, India; Centre for Climate Studies, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal 576104, Karnataka, India. Electronic address: anish.warrier@manipal.edu.

Nelson Rangel-BuitragoPrograma de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad del Atlántico, Puerto Colombia, Atlántico, Colombia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Personal protective equipment (PPE) use has increased because of COVID-19, producing more microplastics (MPs). The pandemic's impact on MP pollution in Indian rivers is little understood. In this study, the Netravathi River in Karnataka was investigated for the spatiotemporal distribution of MPs. The MPs abundance, size, and categories varied seasonally, with a higher concentration during the monsoon seasons. The reduction in rainfall during MON20 and the COVID-19 lockdown can be the reasons for the significant decrease in the MP concentration when compared to MON19. Polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate were the most abundant polymers, with a shift from polyethylene to the latter (74 %) during post-monsoon season post-lockdown. The situation of MP pollution in Western Ghats can be mitigated with the aid of appropriate waste management of plastic trash and greater public awareness about the disposal of single-use plastics, which has risen significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Indexed as

COVID-19Water Pollutants, ChemicalCommunicable Disease ControlEnvironmental MonitoringHumansIndiaMicroplasticsPandemicsPlasticsPolyethyleneRiversMicroplasticsPlasticsPolyethyleneWater Pollutants, ChemicalCOVID-19 pandemicIndiaMicroplasticsNetravathi River basinPolyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate

Identifiers

PMID37269702

DOI10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115088

PMCPMC10227206

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.