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Fluxes, residence times, and the budget of microplastics in the Curonian Lagoon

Environmental Pollution 2025 2 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 48 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Sajjad Abbasi, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Sajjad Abbasi, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Viktorija Sabaliauskaitė Viktorija Sabaliauskaitė Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Neda Hashemi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Neda Hashemi, Neda Hashemi, Neda Hashemi, Viktorija Sabaliauskaitė Arūnas Balčiūnas, Reda Dzingelevičienė, Reda Dzingelevičienė, Reda Dzingelevičienė, Reda Dzingelevičienė, Reda Dzingelevičienė, Reda Dzingelevičienė, Reda Dzingelevičienė, Neda Hashemi, Neda Hashemi, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nerijus Dzingelevičius, Arūnas Balčiūnas, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Sajjad Abbasi, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Sajjad Abbasi, Reda Dzingelevičienė, Viktorija Sabaliauskaitė Nikolaos Evangeliou, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Nerijus Dzingelevičius, Arūnas Balčiūnas, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Reda Dzingelevičienė, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Sajjad Abbasi, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Sajjad Abbasi, Viktorija Sabaliauskaitė Reda Dzingelevičienė, Arūnas Balčiūnas, Sajjad Abbasi, Reda Dzingelevičienė, Reda Dzingelevičienė, Nerijus Dzingelevičius, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Sajjad Abbasi, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Arūnas Balčiūnas, Nerijus Dzingelevičius, Reda Dzingelevičienė, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Reda Dzingelevičienė, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Sajjad Abbasi, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Viktorija Sabaliauskaitė

Summary

Researchers quantified microplastic fluxes across water, sediment, and atmospheric deposition in Europe's largest coastal lagoon—the Curonian Lagoon—finding that atmospheric deposition (27.8 × 10⁹ MPs/year) exceeded river inputs, fibrous MPs dominated all compartments, and lagoon sediments are long-term accumulation sinks with an estimated residence time of ~27 days in the water column.

Study Type Environmental

This study examines the distribution and abundance of microplastics (MPs) in the Europe's largest coastal lagoon, Curonian Lagoon, and adjacent Baltic Sea, focusing on water, surface sediment, and atmospheric deposition. Fibrous MPs, predominantly 1000-5000 μm in size, were the most prevalent across all environments. White/transparent MPs dominated sediment and atmospheric deposition, while blue/green MPs were most abundant in water. Low-density polymers accounted for 70 % of MPs in water, whereas high-density polymers were dominant in sediment (62 %), with equal proportions found in atmospheric deposition. The average MP concentration was higher in the lagoon (1.7 ± 1.2 MP L) compared to the Baltic Sea (1.3 ± 0.4 MP L), with an estimated 66.7 × 10 MP year Flowing from the lagoon into the sea. Atmospheric deposition introduced a substantial MP influx, estimated at 27.8 × 10 MP year, exceeding the river influx of 20.7 × 10 MP year. MP deposition was higher in terrestrial environments (72.5 MP m day) than in aquatic environments (60.4 MP m day in the sea and 48.3 MP m day in the lagoon). The estimated MP budget in lagoon water was 10.8 × 10 MP particles, with a residence time of approximately 27 days. MP concentrations in surface sediment (405.7 ± 192.9 MP kg) indicate long-term accumulation, suggesting substantial MP deposition in lagoon sediments. Atmospheric transport modeling (FLEXPART) identified Europe, Russia, and oceanic sources as key contributors, alongside local inputs from agriculture, sea spray, and road dust. Understanding MP dynamics in coastal ecosystems is urgent to inform mitigation strategies, regulatory policies, and risk assessments, particularly given the long-term accumulation in sediments and potential for ecological harm.

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