T42 Characterization of Karst Aquifers Using Chemical, Biological, and Hydrogeological Data (Posters)

Sunday, 15 October 2023
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Hall B

IDENTIFICATION OF MICROPLASTICS IN SEDIMENT DEPOSITS ALONG A COMMERCIALIZED AND NON-COMMERCIALIZED SEGMENT OF RACOON MOUNTAIN CAVERNS: A TALE OF TWO TOURS

Paper number: T42-1
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM

Authors

Abstract

Microplastics have recently been identified as a threat to freshwater and marine ecosystems. Identification and quantification, however, have proven to be a challenge in the mitigation of microplastics. Several methods have been explored to examine microplastics in sediment samples across depositional environments, and only a few studies have investigated the extent of microplastics in cave sediments and karst aquifers. Using previously described methodologies, Balestra and Bellopede (2022) developed a microplastic detection technique to identify microplastics in cave sediments. Our study expands on their technique and provides the unique opportunity to compare the quantity of microplastics in a local commercial cave and its associated wild cave. Raccoon Mountain Caverns, which is approximately 6 miles west of Chattanooga, Tennessee, has a walking tour available for tourists that includes a simple pathway that has been modified for walking. The company also provides wild cave tours that invite smaller groups to explore the non-commercialized sections of the cave. Using sediment samples collected from the commercial tour and the non-commercialized tour, microplastics were filtered and separated by density separation and dyed with a Nile Red technique. The microplastics were then identified using UV microscopy. Samples from the commercial section of the cave are compared to the non-commercial section of the cave to explore the difference between microplastic pollution in the sediments less often exposed to tourism to the sediments along the walking tour.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 55, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2023AM-390742

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