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Tracking the sources of atmospheric microplastic using FLEXPART v.
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Researchers used the FLEXPART atmospheric particle dispersion model to track the sources and transport pathways of atmospheric microplastics detected at monitoring sites around the world, accounting for the complex shapes of microplastic fibres that complicate standard atmospheric transport modelling. The study aimed to reduce uncertainty in source attribution for atmospheric microplastics and characterise the relative contributions of different emission sources including urban areas, oceans, and agricultural regions.
An emerging number of studies highlighted the presence of microplastic in the atmosphere all over the world. The presence of such particles has been observed at the poles, in the marine atmosphere above the surface of the oceans, in clouds, on the fresh snow of high mountains and high concentrations has been observed in the atmospheric fallout in densely populated areas. Despite so, the main sources of atmospheric microplastic are still not well characterized and there are high uncertainties in the attempts of estimating their relative contributions. In addition, the peculiar shape of some of these particles, e.g. the very elongated fibers, complicates tracking their atmospheric transport. In this work, we explore the contribution of different sources adopting a Lagrangian approach to analyze the existing timeseries of microplastic concentrations. To do so, we exploit the new version of the Lagrangian model FLEXPART v11 (L. Bakels et al. 2024, in preparation), which also has the capability of considering the differences in the atmospheric lifetimes of irregular particles such as flattened or elongated plastic film or fibers (D. Tatsii et al. 2023). The results will highlight the areas of main emission for the regions of observations and help advance in our understanding of the sources of atmospheric microplastic pollution.
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Can we identify the dominant sources of atmospheric microplastic?
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Researchers applied Lagrangian back-trajectory modelling using FLEXPART-v11 to atmospheric microplastic observations at multiple global sites including polar regions, marine boundary layers, and high mountain snow, aiming to identify dominant emission sources and quantify their relative contributions to atmospheric MP pollution.
Microplastic particles resuspensions in bare soils and global atmospheric transport
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Researchers estimated global atmospheric transport of microplastics resuspended from bare soils using the FLEXPART dispersion model and FLEXDUST dust emission scheme, simulating transport of spheres and fibers across a range of sizes via Monte Carlo analysis to quantify secondary microplastic sources and their global distribution.
Investigating the Atmospheric Dispersion of Microplastic Particles - A Model Study
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Researchers employed the COSMO-Itpas Lagrangian transport model to simulate the atmospheric dispersion of microplastic particles in central Germany, calculating thousands of particle trajectories to identify connectivity between potential sources such as roads, agricultural areas, and water bodies and detection sites.
FLEXPART version 11: improved accuracy, efficiency, and flexibility
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This paper describes major upgrades to FLEXPART, a widely used computer model for tracking how particles and gases move through the atmosphere. The new version improves accuracy and runs faster by using better numerical methods and modern computing techniques. While not directly about microplastics, this type of atmospheric transport modeling is used in research that tracks how airborne microplastic particles travel across the globe.
Potential sources and transport of atmospheric microplastics in the North Atlantic Ocean
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Researchers sampled atmospheric microplastics along seven transects from the Norwegian coast to Bear Island during a 2021 research cruise, using Py-GC/MS mass quantification to detect MPs up to 37.5 ng/m3 with PET predominating, and applied the FLEXPART Lagrangian dispersion model to reconstruct potential source regions.
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