We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Impact of Global Major Reservoirs and Lakes on Plastic Dynamics Using a Process‐Based Eco‐Hydrology Model
AI summary Read the abstract
A global hydrological model was extended to simulate how reservoirs and lakes affect the transport and burial of plastic particles in river systems worldwide, finding that large water bodies trap a portion of the plastic that would otherwise flow to the ocean. The model reveals that lakes and reservoirs act as sinks for denser plastics especially, which has implications for estimating how much plastic ultimately reaches the sea versus accumulating in inland water bodies.
ABSTRACT Environmental contamination by plastics has been receiving considerable attention from scientists, policymakers and the public. In this study, the process‐based model NICE‐BGC was extended to couple with LAKE2K in a stratified water quality model to evaluate the global plastic dynamics in both lotic and lentic waters. The new model could simulate riverine plastic transport in inland waters with and without the presence of global major reservoirs and lakes. The result showed the simulated plastic transport with the presence of reservoirs becomes slightly smaller than that without the presence of reservoirs. In particular, the plastic burial simulated by the model became different with and without the lake model when the density of plastic was higher than that of water. This result showed there are limits to the application of the same partial differential equations as in inorganic carbon for the derivatives either with or without the reservoirs as assumed in a previous study by this author, especially when the plastic density is higher than that of water. The model also simulated plastic sedimentation in the global lakes and reservoirs together, and showed that more plastic deposits in the reservoirs than in the lakes with the exception of the Caspian Sea and most of lentic waters are found to deposit more microplastics than macroplastics as pointed out in a previous study. Finally, the weighted average of plastic budget in the global major rivers with the effect of anthropogenic factors such as construction of artificial dams and global lakes in lentic water was quantified. The simulated result also showed that incorporation of the lake model in NICE‐BGC led to improved estimates of plastic dynamics in inland waters, and may aid the development of solutions and measures to reduce plastic input to the ocean.
More Papers Like This
Modeling the transport and residence time of microplastic particles in lakes and reservoirs
AI summary Read the abstract
This study developed and validated a model for simulating the transport and residence time of microplastic particles in lakes and reservoirs, showing that hydrodynamic factors, particle density, and lake morphology together determine where microplastics accumulate.
River plastic transport and storage budget.
AI summary Read the abstract
This global synthesis estimated the plastic transport and storage budget for rivers by measuring plastic in the water surface, water column, riverbanks, and floodplains — finding that far more plastic is stored within rivers than is transported to the ocean. The study challenges the assumption that rivers are primarily conduits and highlights them as major long-term plastic reservoirs.
Modeling three-dimensional microplastic transport and sedimentation in lakes and reservoirs
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers used 3D hydrodynamic modeling to simulate microplastic transport, residence time, and sedimentation patterns in lakes and reservoirs. The models showed that bathymetry and inlet-outlet flow patterns strongly control where microplastics accumulate on lake beds.
Rivers as Plastic Reservoirs
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers introduce the concept of river systems as plastic reservoirs, arguing that most land-based plastic waste never reaches the ocean. They found that rivers retain the vast majority of plastics within their terrestrial and aquatic compartments, where they can persist for years to centuries. The study reframes rivers not just as transport pathways for marine plastic pollution, but as significant long-term storage environments for plastic waste.
The “plastic cycle”: a watershed‐scale model of plastic pools and fluxes
AI summary Read the abstract
This paper presented a watershed-scale conceptual model of plastic sources, fluxes, and fates — including landfill containment, environmental persistence, atmospheric interactions, and ocean export — arguing that terrestrial and freshwater plastic stocks are severely underappreciated in global accounting.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.