Research 2016
The risk of microplastics in Indonesian coastal areas for coastal seafood species and human health
New PhD project by Inneke Hantoro
The risk of microplastics in Indonesian coastal areas for coastal seafood species and human health.
Supervisors:
- Ansje Löhr, Ad Ragas and Frank van Belleghem, Open Universiteit, The Netherlands
- Budi Widianarko, Soegijapranata Catholic University, Semarang, Indonesia
'Plastic pollution in Indonesia and possible risks to coastal sea food species and human health'
A MST-NW seminar held on March 6th by Prof. dr. Budi Widianarko. Prof. dr. Budi Widianarko is a professor of Environmental Toxicology at the Graduate Program on Environment and Urban Studies, Soegijapranata Catholic University (SCU), Semarang – Indonesia. His teachings and research are centered around environmental and natural resources management, as well as food ecology and safety. Cooperation OU - USC. There is already a long term scientific collaboration between the Open University (OU) and the Soegijapranata Catholic University (USC). The collaboration focuses mainly on the field of environmental and urban studies. The last years there is a strong focus on the theme plastic pollution. Plastic pollution is worldwide recognized as one of the most serious environmental problems.
Article 'Microplastics in the Belgian North Sea' in June 2016 in NATUUR.FOCUS
Schnitzler N., Van Belleghem F. & Löhr A. 2016. Microplastics in the Belgian North Sea. An emerging threat for the marine fauna and ecosystems? Natuur.focus 15(2): 67-73 [in Dutch; with an English summary]
European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2016
Midst April 2016 we participated in this conference in Vienna with the presentation of a global modeling approach River export of plastic from land to sea.
Festival for Ocean Awareness
Festival for Ocean Awareness; an informal event organized by the Utrechtse Biologen Vereniging, 27th May 2016. Dr. Ansje Löhr was one of the speakers at the symposium part of the day.
Conference
Siegfried M., Gabbert S., Koelmans, A.A., Kroeze, C., Löhr, A. & Verburg, C. (2016) River Export of Plastic from Land to Sea: A Global Modeling Approach. Session HS5.10 Assessment and interpretation of state and trends in water quality EGU2016-11507.
Recent paper with colleagues from Wageningen University in Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 2016.
Global modelling of surface water quality: a multi-pollutant approach
Carolien Kroeze, Silke Gabbert, Nynke Hofstra, Albert A Koelmans, Ang Li, Ansje Löhr, Fulco Ludwig, Maryna Strokal, Charlotte Verburg, Lucie Vermeulen, Michelle TH van Vliet, Wim de Vries, Mengru Wang and Jikke van Wijnen In many world regions the availability of clean water is at risk.
Pollution of rivers and coastal seas poses a threat to aquatic ecosystems and society. Here, we review representative examples of mathematical models that simulate pollutant flows from land to sea at global and continental scales. We argue that a multi-pollutant modelling approach would help to better understand and manage water quality issues. Pollutants often have common sources and multiple impacts. Most existing spatially explicit models, however, focus on one type of pollution only. A new generation of models is needed to explicitly address the combined exposure of surface waters to multiple pollutants. Such models could serve as a basis for integrated water quantity and water quality assessments.