Beschreibung: Rivers are an important source of marine anthropogenic litter, but the particular origins of riverine litter itself have not been well established. Here we used a citizen science approach where schoolchildren examined litter at riversides and identified possible sources at over 250 sampling spots along large and small rivers in Germany, during autumn 2016 and spring 2017. Litter densities have an overall median of 0.14, interquartile range 0–0.57 items m−2 and an overall average (±standard deviation) of 0.54 ± 1.20 litter items m−2. Litter quantities differed only little by sampling year. The principal litter types found were plastics and cigarette butts (31% and 20%, respectively), followed by glass, paper, and metal items, indicating recreational visitors as the principal litter source. At many sites (85%), accumulations of litter, consisting principally of cigarettes and food packaging, have been found. At almost all sampling sites (89%), litter potentially hazardous to human health has been observed, including broken glass, sharp metal objects, used personal hygiene articles and items containing chemicals. In the search for litter sources, the schoolchildren identified mainly people who use the rivers as recreational areas (in contrast to residents living in the vicinity, illegal dumping, or the river itself depositing litter from upstream sources). These results indicate the urgent need for better education and policy measures in order to protect riparian environments and reduce input of riverine litter to the marine environment.

Beschreibung: Rivers are an important transport route of anthropogenic litter from inland sources toward the sea. A collaborative (i.e. citizen science) approach was used to evaluate the litter pollution of rivers in Germany: schoolchildren within the project “Plastic Pirates” investigated rivers across the entire country during the years 2016 and 2017 by surveying floating macrolitter at 282 sites and taking 164 meso−/microplastic samples (i.e. particles 24.99–5 mm, and 4.99–1 mm, respectively). Floating macrolitter was sighted at 54% of sampling sites and floating macrolitter quantities ranged from 0 to 8.25 items m−1 h−1 (average of 0.34 ± 0.89 litter items m−1 h−1). Floating meso−/microplastics were present at 57% of the sampling sites, and floating meso−/microplastic quantities ranged from 0 to 220 particles h−1 (average of 6.86 ± 24.11 items h−1). As only particles 〉1 mm were sampled and analyzed, the pollution of rivers in Germany by microplastics could be a much more prevalent problem, regardless of the size of the river. We identified six plastic pollution hotspots where 60% of all meso−/microplastics collected in the present study were found. These hotspots were located close to a plastic-producing industry site, a wastewater treatment plant, at and below weirs, or in residential areas. The composition of the particles at these hotspots indicates plastic producers and possibly the construction industry and wastewater treatment plants as point sources. An identification of litter hotspots would enable specific mitigation measures, adjusted to the respective source, and thereby could prevent the release of large quantities of small plastic particles in rivers. The adopted large-scale citizen science approach was especially suitable to detect pollution hotspots by sampling a variety of rivers, large and small, and enabled a national overview of litter pollution in German rivers.

Beschreibung: Interactive computer simulations and hands-on experiments are important teaching methods in modern science education. Especially for the communication of complex current topics with social relevance (socioscientific issues), suitable methods in science education are of great importance. However, previous studies could not sufficiently clarify the educational advantages and disadvantages of both methods and often lack adequate comparability. This paper presents two studies of direct comparisons of hands-on experiments and interactive computer simulations as learning tools in science education for secondary school students in two different learning locations (Study I: school; Study II: student laboratory). Using a simple experimental research design with type of learning location as between-subjects factor (NStudy I = 443, NStudy II = 367), these studies compare working on computer simulations versus experiments in terms of knowledge achievement, development of situational interest and cognitive load. Independent of the learning location, the results showed higher learning success for students working on computer simulations than while working on experiments, despite higher cognitive load. However, working on experiments promoted situational interest more than computer simulations (especially the epistemic and value-related component). We stated that simulations might be particularly suitable for teaching complex topics. The findings reviewed in this paper moreover imply that working with one method may complement and supplement the weaknesses of the other. We conclude that that the most effective way to communicate complex current research topics might be a combination of both methods. These conclusions derive a contribution to successful modern science education in school and out-of-school learning contexts

Beschreibung: Abundance and composition of beach litter and microplastics (20–5000 μm, excluding fibres) were assessed in spring and autumn 2018 at various beaches along the Baltic Sea coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Northern Germany. The beach litter survey followed the OSPAR guidelines, while microplastics were extracted from sediment samples using density separation and were then identified with Raman μ-spectroscopy. We observed seasonality in the abundance and composition, but not in the mass of beach litter. The median microplastic abundance was 2 particles per 500 g of dry sediment in spring as well as in autumn, while six different synthetic polymers (PE, PP, PS, PET, PVC, POM) were detected. We found no correlation between the abundances of beach litter and microplastics. Our data represent the first systematic co-assessment of macro- and micro beach litter along the Baltic Sea coast of Schleswig-Holstein.