Riverbank plastic distributions and how to sample them

Riverbank plastic distributions and how to sample them | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Riverbank plastic distributions and how to sample them Paolo F. Tasseron, Tim H.M. van Emmerik, Winnie de Winter, Paul Vriend, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4843702/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 01 Nov, 2024 Read the published version in Microplastics and Nanoplastics → Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract As plastic pollution exists in aquatic ecosystems globally, monitoring its abundance and distribution has become crucial for understanding transport pathways, sources, sinks, and impacts. Riverbanks are accumulation zones for plastic, but the selection of monitoring methods is constrained by research goals, available resources, and site-specific conditions. This diversity in approaches has led to disparate datasets, highlighting the need for standardized monitoring protocols. Here, we study the spatial distribution of plastic at the riverbank scale, quantify the uncertainty of existing riverbank methods, and provide recommendations for improved monitoring based on the balance between uncertainty loss and increase in effort. We measured riverbank plastic abundance at eight Dutch riverbanks, categorizing the items using 108 item categories (River-OSPAR). For every riverbank, an area of 100 by 25 meters was subdivided into five-by-five-meter squares, resulting in 100 individual monitored sub-areas. We found riverbank plastic exhibited high spatial variability, with deposition patterns ranging from parallel to the waterline to clustered, random, or uniform (Moran's I between -0.050 and 0.301). Individual measurements from diverse sampling protocols are 5-49 times less accurate than estimates derived from extensive sampling, highlighting the diminishing impact of specific methods with increased data collection. Lastly, our findings suggest that increasing the sampling area quickly reaches diminishing returns in terms of accuracy. Reducing the sampled area by 80% only increases the uncertainty in estimating the true plastic density by 20%. While standardized protocols are essential for data comparability, a rigid, uniform sampling approach may be less efficient and resource-intensive than a flexible (step-wise) strategy that adapts to local conditions. By demonstrating that extensive sampling can mitigate the differences between unique sampling protocols, this study promotes a shift towards flexible and efficient riverbank plastic monitoring, ultimately accelerating global efforts to combat plastic pollution. Monitoring Method Environmental Pollution Plastic Debris Protocol Harmonization Optimization Uncertainty Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Supplementarydata.zip Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 01 Nov, 2024 Read the published version in Microplastics and Nanoplastics → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 25 Sep, 2024 Reviews received at journal 02 Sep, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 27 Aug, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Aug, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 08 Aug, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 05 Aug, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 05 Aug, 2024 First submitted to journal 01 Aug, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4843702","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":346127883,"identity":"5d5798f5-5a0d-474d-a2fe-928f31821659","order_by":0,"name":"Paolo F. 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