Sampling with Niskin bottles and microfiltration reveals a high prevalence of microfibers

Abstract

Microfibers were identified in filtered water from Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and northern Lake Huron in the United States. Sampling with a Niskin bottle followed by microfiltration (0.45 μm filter), a sampling methodology rarely used in microplastics sampling, revealed an average microfiber concentration of 0.119 +/- 0.04 microfibers/mL. Microfibers may be under-represented in estimates of micro- and nanoplastic pollution if microfiltering is not included in the sampling scheme.