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The Duration of Dry Events Promotes PVC Film Fragmentation in Intermittent Rivers
Environmental Science & Technology2024
10 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 50
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Nans Barthélémy,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Thibault Datry
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Florian Mermillod‐Blondin,
Stefan Krause,
Florian Mermillod‐Blondin,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Florian Mermillod‐Blondin,
Florian Mermillod‐Blondin,
Florian Mermillod‐Blondin,
Florian Mermillod‐Blondin,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Thibault Datry
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Laurent Simon,
Florian Mermillod‐Blondin,
Florian Mermillod‐Blondin,
Florian Mermillod‐Blondin,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Florian Mermillod‐Blondin,
Louise Mimeau,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Laurent Simon,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Alexandre Devers,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Jean‐Philippe Vidal,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Thibault Datry
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Stefan Krause,
Florian Mermillod‐Blondin,
Florian Mermillod‐Blondin,
Laurent Simon,
Laurent Simon,
Laurent Simon,
Stefan Krause,
Florian Mermillod‐Blondin,
Thibault Datry
Florian Mermillod‐Blondin,
Stefan Krause,
Laurent Simon,
Stefan Krause,
Florian Mermillod‐Blondin,
Florian Mermillod‐Blondin,
Stefan Krause,
Thibault Datry
Summary
Researchers investigated how river drying events and UV exposure affect the fragmentation of PVC films, relevant to understanding microplastic generation in intermittent rivers. They found that longer drying periods significantly increased the number of microplastic fragments produced during subsequent mechanical abrasion. The study suggests that climate-driven increases in river drying could accelerate the breakdown of plastic debris into microplastics in freshwater environments.
The majority of microplastics (MPs) found in the environment originate from plastic fragmentation occurring in the environment and are influenced by environmental factors such as UV irradiation and biotic interactions. However, the effects of river drying on plastic fragmentation remain unknown, despite the global prevalence of watercourses experiencing flow intermittence. This study investigates, through laboratory experiments, the coupled effects of drying duration and UV irradiation on PVC film fragmentation induced by artificial mechanical abrasion. This study shows that PVC film fragmentation increases with drying duration through an increase in the abundance and size of formed MPs as well as mass loss from the initial plastic item, with significant differences for drying durations >50% of the experiment duration. The average abundance of formed MPs in treatments exposed to severe drying duration was almost two times higher than in treatments nonexposed to drying. Based on these results, we developed as a proof of concept an Intermittence-Based Plastic Fragmentation Index that may provide insights into plastic fragmentation occurring in river catchments experiencing large hydrological variability. The present study suggests that flow intermittence occurring in rivers and streams can lead to increasing plastic fragmentation, unraveling new insights into plastic pollution in freshwater systems.