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Airborne microplastics on the move: Urban Europe as a source to remote regions

Environmental Pollution 2025 2 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 58 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Natascha Schmidt, Dorte Herzke Nikolaos Evangeliou, Natascha Schmidt, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Natascha Schmidt, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Natascha Schmidt, Natascha Schmidt, Natascha Schmidt, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Hans Peter H. Arp, Hans Peter H. Arp, Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Natascha Schmidt, Natascha Schmidt, Natascha Schmidt, Natascha Schmidt, Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Hans Peter H. Arp, Hans Peter H. Arp, Hans Peter H. Arp, Hans Peter H. Arp, Hans Peter H. Arp, Hans Peter H. Arp, Sabine Eckhardt, Sabine Eckhardt, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Dorte Herzke Natascha Schmidt, Natascha Schmidt, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Dorte Herzke Natascha Schmidt, Natascha Schmidt, Sabine Eckhardt, Sabine Eckhardt, Dorte Herzke Natascha Schmidt, Sabine Eckhardt, Sabine Eckhardt, Dominik Schulz, Anders Lervik, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Natascha Schmidt, Hans Peter H. Arp, Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Natascha Schmidt, Hans Peter H. Arp, Hans Peter H. Arp, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Natascha Schmidt, Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Natascha Schmidt, Natascha Schmidt, Natascha Schmidt, Natascha Schmidt, Natascha Schmidt, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Dominik Schulz, Sabine Eckhardt, Hans Peter H. Arp, Hans Peter H. Arp, Hans Peter H. Arp, Hans Peter H. Arp, Dominik Schulz, Sam Celentano, Sabine Eckhardt, Natascha Schmidt, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Natascha Schmidt, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Natascha Schmidt, Sam Celentano, Hans Peter H. Arp, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Dorte Herzke Natascha Schmidt, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Hans Peter H. Arp, Dorte Herzke Hans Peter H. Arp, Hans Peter H. Arp, Dorte Herzke Nikolaos Evangeliou, Hans Peter H. Arp, Sabine Eckhardt, Dorte Herzke Dominik Schulz, Sabine Eckhardt, Sabine Eckhardt, Natascha Schmidt, Natascha Schmidt, Sabine Eckhardt, Sabine Eckhardt, Hans Peter H. Arp, Natascha Schmidt, Hans Peter H. Arp, Dorte Herzke Natascha Schmidt, Hans Peter H. Arp, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Hans Peter H. Arp, Hans Peter H. Arp, Dorte Herzke Sabine Eckhardt, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Natascha Schmidt, Sabine Eckhardt, Hans Peter H. Arp, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Sabine Eckhardt, Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Nikolaos Evangeliou, Hans Peter H. Arp, Dorte Herzke Hans Peter H. Arp, Dorte Herzke Sabine Eckhardt, Sabine Eckhardt, Sabine Eckhardt, Hans Peter H. Arp, Dorte Herzke Natascha Schmidt, Natascha Schmidt, Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Natascha Schmidt, Natascha Schmidt, Natascha Schmidt, Dorte Herzke Natascha Schmidt, Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Dorte Herzke Hans Peter H. Arp, Dorte Herzke Natascha Schmidt, Dorte Herzke

Summary

Researchers measured airborne microplastics at both urban and remote sites across Norway and found that tire wear particles dominated urban air pollution, with seasonal peaks during the switch to winter tires. Microplastics were also detected at remote locations far from cities, confirming that these particles undergo long-range atmospheric transport from urban source regions across Europe.

Polymers
Models

This study presents a comprehensive assessment of unique parallel measurements of surface airborne and deposited microplastics (AMPs) across urban and remote sites in Norway, employing pyrolysis-GC/MS for polymer-specific analysis. MPs were detected in nearly all samples, with significantly higher concentrations and fluxes observed in urban areas like Oslo, where tire wear particles (TWP) dominated (>90 % of AMP mass). Seasonal peaks in TWP coincided with the transition to winter tires, while remote sites showed consistent but lower AMP levels, indicating long-range transport (LRT) from European source regions. Parallel measurements of suspended and deposited AMPs revealed consistent polymer signatures, highlighting common sources and transport pathways. Although urban TWP contributions to PM<sub>2</sub>.<sub>5</sub> were generally low, episodic events reached up to 30 %, raising concerns about human exposure. The dual dataset enabled a robust cross-validation of atmospheric loading estimates and facilitated integration into advanced transport models for remote sites. Our findings confirm AMPs as significant components of urban air pollution and subsequent carriers of chemical and biological contaminants to remote regions, emphasizing the need for targeted monitoring and mitigation strategies.

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