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The global odyssey of plastic pollution
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This perspective piece encourages scientists to think about microplastic pollution as a global cycle, similar to the carbon or water cycles, rather than as isolated contamination events. Researchers suggest that taking this broader view reveals new features of how tiny plastic particles move through the environment across air, water, and land. The framing helps identify overlooked pathways and connections that are critical for understanding the full scope of plastic pollution.
Thinking big about small particles reveals new features of the microplastic cycle
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The Microplastic Cycle: An Introduction to a Complex Issue
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This study introduces and expands the microplastic cycle concept as a framework for understanding how plastic particles move across ecosystem reservoirs, connecting source-receptor models with the fate, transport, and effects of plastic pollution.
Microplastics: An introduction to environmental transport processes
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This review introduces a new concept called the Plastic Cycle to describe how microplastics move between land, water, and air environments, rather than treating these as separate systems. Researchers outline the sources, transport processes, and ultimate fate of microplastics across environmental compartments. Understanding these interconnected pathways is essential for assessing long-term ecological and human health risks from pervasive microplastic pollution.
Global transportation of plastics and microplastics: A critical review of pathways and influences
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This review maps out the global pathways through which plastics and microplastics move through the environment, including water cycles, atmospheric transport, ocean currents, and biological transfer. Researchers found that human activities contribute at every stage of plastic transportation, from initial release to final accumulation in remote environments. The study emphasizes that plastic pollution is an extraordinarily complex issue involving both natural and human-driven dynamics that require coordinated global research.
Microplastics research—from sink to source
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This perspective highlights that microplastic pollution is not limited to the oceans but is also widespread in freshwater systems and on land. Researchers argue that the field needs to shift from simply documenting where microplastics are found to understanding their sources, transport pathways, and ecological impacts across all environments. The study calls for a more integrated approach to microplastic research that connects marine, freshwater, and terrestrial contamination.
Microplastics and nanoplastics in the environment: Macroscopic transport and effects on creatures
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This review takes a big-picture look at how microplastics and nanoplastics move across aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric environments rather than treating each environment in isolation. Researchers emphasize that these tiny plastic particles cycle between water, land, and air, and they examine the effects on organisms across all of these interconnected systems.
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.