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Wind- and rain-driven macroplastic mobilization and transport on land

Scientific Reports 2024 25 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 55 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Thomas Mani, Thomas Mani, Thomas Mani, Thomas Mani, Thomas Mani, Thomas Mani, Thomas Mani, Thomas Mani, Yvette Mellink, Yvette Mellink, Yvette Mellink, Yvette Mellink, Yvette Mellink, Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Yvette Mellink, Yvette Mellink, Yvette Mellink, Yvette Mellink, Tim van Emmerik Thomas Mani, Thomas Mani, Thomas Mani, Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Thomas Mani, Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Yvette Mellink, Tim van Emmerik Yvette Mellink, Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Thomas Mani, Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Yvette Mellink, Yvette Mellink, Yvette Mellink, Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik Tim van Emmerik

Summary

Researchers conducted lab experiments to measure how wind and rain move large plastic items across different land surfaces. They found that plastic bags were easily mobilized by moderate wind, while heavier items required stronger forces, and smooth paved surfaces allowed plastics to travel much faster than grassy terrain. The study suggests that existing models may significantly underestimate how readily plastic waste moves across land before reaching waterways.

Wind and rain are considered main drivers for mobilization and transport of macroplastics on land, yet there is a lack of empirical data that quantifies this. We present lab experiment results on land-based macroplastic mobilization and transport. We placed four types of macroplastics on terrains with varying surface roughness and slope angles, and exposed them to changing wind speeds and rain intensities. In general, we find that the mobilization probability and transport velocity of macroplastics strongly depend on the combination of the terrain characteristics and material properties. At Beaufort 3, 100% of the plastic bags were mobilized, whereas for the other plastic types less than 50% were mobilized. We found 1.4 (grass) to 5 times (paved surface) higher mobilization probabilities on land than assumed by existing plastic transport models. Macroplastic transport velocities were positively correlated with wind speed, but not with rain intensity. This suggests that macroplastics are not transported on land by rain unless surface runoff develops that can bring the macroplastics afloat. Macroplastic transport velocities were, driven by wind, 1.9 and, driven by rain, 4.9 times faster on paved surfaces than on grass. This study enhances our understanding of land-based macroplastic transport and provides an empirical basis for models.

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