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Transport mechanisms and fate of microplastics in estuarine compartments: A review
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This review analyzes how tides, river flow, density, biofouling, and sediment dynamics influence the transport and fate of microplastics in estuaries, identifying these transitional zones as both temporary sinks and conduits for plastic pollution.
Despite the importance of estuaries as transition zones between freshwater and marine compartments, their role in the transport of microplastics is still unclear. This review analyzes the findings pertaining to the transport mechanisms and other factors that influence the fate of microplastics in estuaries. It was found that the concentration of microplastics temporally varies under daily tides, monthly tides, and seasonal flows. Moreover, it spatially varies due to density effects, biofouling, aggregation, and salinity. Wind direction and intensity impact the spatiotemporal distribution of microplastics in the water column. Some of these processes transport microplastics to the estuarine sediments. Thereafter, microplastics are prone to resuspension by turbulence and bioturbation. Hence, estuaries act as temporary sinks that retain microplastics before being flushed to the ocean. Finally, a review of highly plastic-emitting rivers shows differences in the factors affecting the transport mechanisms of microplastics, which calls for regionalization when modelling their fate henceforward.
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Physical Controls on Microplastic Retention in Estuarine Systems: Interactions Between Hydrodynamics, Stratification, Bathymetry, and Particle Properties
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This review synthesizes how tidal patterns, river flow, water layering (stratification), estuary shape, and plastic particle properties together determine whether microplastics entering estuaries get trapped in sediments or flushed out to sea. Understanding these physical controls matters because estuaries are critical transition zones — nursery habitats for fish, shellfish, and migratory birds — and knowing where microplastics accumulate helps predict which species and communities face the highest exposure.
Physical drivers of transport, dispersion and trapping of microplastics in a macrotidal, hyper-turbid fluvial–estuarine system: A modelling approach
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Estuaries — where rivers meet the ocean — act like traps for microplastics, with tides, sediment, and shoreline interactions causing much of this plastic pollution to get stuck rather than flushed out to sea. This matters because these are often the same waters used for fishing and shellfish harvesting, meaning trapped microplastics may build up in local food sources over time rather than dispersing and diluting in the open ocean.
The estuarine plastics budget: A conceptual model and meta-analysis of microplastic abundance in estuarine systems
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This meta-analysis examines how microplastics move through estuaries on their way to the ocean, finding that these transitional waterways act as both transport routes and temporary storage areas for plastic debris. Understanding microplastic behavior in estuaries matters because many communities rely on estuarine waters for fishing, recreation, and sometimes drinking water.
Spatial distribution patterns and identification of microplastics on intertidal sediments from urban and semi-natural SW Atlantic estuaries
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Microplastic spatial distribution and polymer types were mapped in intertidal sediments of Portuguese estuaries, environments that act as transition zones between rivers and the sea. The study found both buoyant and non-buoyant microplastics accumulating in estuarine sediments, highlighting their role as microplastic sinks.
Seasonal variability of microplastic transport modulated by tides: A mass-based assessment in a turbidity maximum zone
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Researchers found that tidal dynamics seasonally modulate microplastic transport in an estuary's turbidity maximum zone, with summer conditions promoting bottom enrichment and seaward decreases in particle size and abundance consistent with fragmentation and differential settling processes.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.