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Atmospheric microplastic emissions from land and ocean
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Researchers compiled a comprehensive atmospheric microplastic dataset and derived top-down and bottom-up emission estimates for particles in the 5-100 micrometer size range from both land and ocean sources, providing gridded emissions data in multiple formats for use in atmospheric transport modelling.
Atmospheric microplastic compiled dataset: Excel and CSV formats (atmo_MP_dataset.xlsx, atmo_MP_dataset.csv) Top-down (TD-B, TD-E), bottom-up (BU), and scaled BU microplastic number emissions for size ranges of 5-10, 10-25, 25-50, and 50-100 $\mu$m: NetCDF format (TDB_emissions.nc, TDE_emissions.nc, BU_emissions.nc, scaled_BU_emissions.nc). The corresponding mass emissions of a size bin can be calculated by multiplying the number emission field by the mass of a spherical particle with size the geometric mean of the size bin and density equal to 1200 kg m$^{-3}$. FLEXPART version 11 settings: configuration files of the backward simulations (FLEXPART_options)
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Atmospheric microplastic emissions from land and ocean
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Researchers quantified atmospheric microplastic emissions from both land and ocean surfaces, finding that re-suspension of deposited plastics from land and sea spray from the ocean are significant sources of airborne particles. The results highlight that the ocean is not just a sink but also a source of airborne microplastics.
Efficient Atmospheric Transport of Microplastics over Asia and Adjacent Oceans
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Researchers developed an atmospheric transport model for microplastics over Asia, estimating annual emissions of 310 gigagrams and finding that atmospheric transport efficiently carries microplastics from land sources to remote ocean regions across the Pacific and Indian oceans.
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Researchers compared computer model estimates of airborne microplastic particles with real-world measurements, after correcting for differences in how particle sizes were counted. After this correction, global atmospheric microplastic emissions were estimated at about 12 thousand tonnes per year, much lower than earlier estimates, with more coming from land than oceans.
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This study used bottom-up modeling to estimate how microplastics move between the ocean surface and the atmosphere at a global scale. The findings suggest ocean surfaces are both a source and sink for airborne microplastics, helping explain how plastics cycle through Earth's major environmental systems.
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This study used atmospheric modeling to estimate the global distribution of airborne microplastics, finding that land-based sources like roads, agriculture, and cities contribute far more to atmospheric microplastics than ocean emissions. The model, validated against real-world observations, suggests that ocean contributions are about 10,000 times lower than previously estimated. Understanding where airborne microplastics come from is important because inhalation is a major route of human exposure.
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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.