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‘The Great River Thames Washout’: The Impact of Seasonality on Microplastic Abundance
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Researchers monitored microplastic abundance in the River Thames across seasons, finding that flow rates and rainfall patterns significantly influence particle concentrations and distribution in UK river systems. The study highlights a regulatory blind spot -- microplastics are not yet monitored as part of official UK water quality testing -- leaving the public without systematic data on their exposure through river environments.
In the UK, microplastics are considered an emergent contaminant but not pollutants and, at this moment, are not monitored as part of water quality tests. As a result, microplastic abundance within many UK rivers is unknown. This also means that the many factors...
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Unraveling the interplay between seasonal variations in macroinvertebrates and microplastics in urban stream sediments
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Seasonal sampling of an urban stream in Zagreb, Croatia found macroinvertebrate communities dominated by pollution-tolerant taxa while microplastic concentrations — dominated by polyethylene, polystyrene, and ethylene vinyl acetate — were higher upstream than downstream across both spring and autumn. The findings support the urban stream syndrome hypothesis and show sediment microplastics are a persistent feature of urban waterways with implications for invertebrate community health.
Sourcing, Timing, and Extent of Microplastic Mobilization by Urban Flooding
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Researchers studied how urban flood events mobilize microplastics stored in urban watersheds, finding that storm flooding dramatically increases the transport of accumulated plastic particles into waterways and downstream environments. As climate change intensifies urban flooding frequency, understanding microplastic mobilization dynamics is critical for predicting pollution loading into aquatic ecosystems and designing stormwater management systems that reduce plastic discharge.
Occurrence, Distribution, and Removal of Microplastics from Aquatic Ecosystems
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Researchers investigated the occurrence, distribution, and removal strategies for microplastics in aquatic ecosystems, reviewing how their pervasive presence and resistance to conventional treatment create persistent risks for both environmental and human health.
A drainage influence scoring framework explains seasonal microplastic patterns in a tropical urban catchment
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Researchers developed a drainage influence scoring framework to explain seasonal microplastic distribution in Kochi, India, finding that post-monsoon runoff significantly increased microplastic abundance in both water and sediment samples. The framework, which integrates upstream waste proximity, network connectivity, and urban density, showed a strong correlation with post-monsoon microplastic levels and can help prioritize drainage management strategies in tropical cities lacking detailed hydrological models.
River Microplastic Contamination and Dynamics upon a Rainfall Event in Hong Kong, China
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An urban river in Hong Kong contained microplastics at nearly double the concentration of nearby coastal seawater after rainfall, but levels dropped tenfold within two hours as particles dispersed, underscoring rivers as major dynamic conduits for flushing microplastics into marine environments. Understanding these rainfall-driven pulses is critical for accurately estimating how much plastic enters the ocean from land-based sources.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.