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Microplastic Debris Storage and Transport in Small Urban Streams
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Researchers tracked microplastic storage and transport in a small urban stream near St. Louis across seasonal conditions and a flood event, finding microplastics in 93% of samples with the highest concentration during peak flood flow. Results indicate that flood events dramatically resuspend and export sediment-stored microplastics, with synthetic fibers dominating the particle assemblage.
Microplastics, 1 µm – 5 mm plastic particles, are ubiquitous global contaminants. The debris is concerning to human and ecological health due to ingestion by a range of species and presence in commonly consumed human foods and beverages. To regulate microplastics effectively, we must understand their sources, storage, and transport. Small urban streams connect city plastic sources to rivers and the global ocean. These systems experience extreme changes in flow, exhibiting floods that may dramatically enhance sediment and contaminant transport, followed by periods of low discharge when debris may be stored. Erratic flow in urban streams suggests dynamic partitioning of microplastics across sediment and water, influencing stream storage and transport. Our research characterizes the role of an urban stream (Deer Creek near St. Louis, Missouri) in microplastic storage and transport across time and space. Samples were collected March to August 2021 from a single site weekly at low flow and at high frequency during a flood. Microplastics and other geochemical parameters were measured and compared with discharge to assess potential plastic sources including particle suspension within the catchment (e.g., using total suspended solids (TSS)) and wastewater inputs (e.g., using fluoride and optical brighteners (whiteners in laundry detergent)). Microplastics were found in most samples (93%; n = 27) with the highest concentration (35.9 particles/L) found near peak flood flow. For all plastics, the dominant shape was fiber (88%) and common colors were clear (34%) and blue (33%). Total microplastics in flow lower than or near the stream’s average of 0.36 m 3 /s exhibited no correlations with other geochemical parameters. However, preliminary flood data indicate enhanced microplastic concentrations during high discharge (flow up to 4.87 m 3 /s) when TSS was elevated. Microplastics in floods are likely sourced from a combination of surface runoff inputs and resuspension of bed sediments. Ongoing analyses of temporal and spatial water and sediment samples will identify sources, storage, and transport of plastic debris across the basin, seasons, and floods. Our study results will clarify how microplastics partition between sediment and water in variable hydrologic conditions, with implications for export downstream.
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Researchers measured microplastic concentrations in a small urban stream in central Illinois and found levels orders of magnitude higher than those in major rivers like the Chicago or Danube, with downstream concentrations reaching 2,000 particles per cubic meter. The findings suggest small urban waterways may be underestimated but significant pathways for funneling microplastics into larger water systems.
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Researchers documented pervasive microplastic contamination in fluvial sediments across urban stream systems in Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, identifying fibers and fragments from synthetic textiles and packaging as dominant particle types. Urban waterways function as persistent microplastic sinks and sources, accumulating particles during low flow and flushing them downstream during storm events — a cycle that continuously redistributes contamination through river networks.
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Researchers reviewed sources, transport behavior, and ecotoxicological impacts of microplastics in freshwater ecosystems, finding that rivers and lakes are both pathways and sinks for plastic particles and that biological effects on freshwater organisms remain poorly characterized compared to marine systems.
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Researchers reviewed how microplastics travel from terrestrial sources — including agriculture, urban runoff, and atmospheric deposition — into rivers, lakes, and ultimately the ocean, synthesizing current knowledge on transport mechanisms and knowledge gaps. Understanding land-to-water transport pathways is critical for identifying where interventions can most effectively reduce the flow of plastics into aquatic ecosystems and human food sources.
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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.