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Tier 2
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Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence.
Environmental Sources
Marine & Wildlife
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Atmospheric Transport, a Major Pathway of Microplastics to Remote Regions
Preprints.org2020
12 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 30
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Henrik Grythe,
Henrik Grythe,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Henrik Grythe,
Henrik Grythe,
Susana López-Aparicio,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Susana López-Aparicio,
Sabine Eckhardt,
Sabine Eckhardt,
Henrik Grythe,
A. Stohl
Zbigniew Klimont,
Zbigniew Klimont,
Sabine Eckhardt,
Sabine Eckhardt,
Sabine Eckhardt,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Sabine Eckhardt,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
A. Stohl
A. Stohl
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
C. Heyes,
A. Stohl
A. Stohl
A. Stohl
A. Stohl
A. Stohl
A. Stohl
A. Stohl
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Sabine Eckhardt,
C. Heyes,
A. Stohl
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Sabine Eckhardt,
A. Stohl
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
A. Stohl
Sabine Eckhardt,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
A. Stohl
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
A. Stohl
Sabine Eckhardt,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
A. Stohl
A. Stohl
Zbigniew Klimont,
Zbigniew Klimont,
A. Stohl
A. Stohl
A. Stohl
Sabine Eckhardt,
Susana López-Aparicio,
Sabine Eckhardt,
Susana López-Aparicio,
Sabine Eckhardt,
A. Stohl
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
A. Stohl
A. Stohl
A. Stohl
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
A. Stohl
Sabine Eckhardt,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Sabine Eckhardt,
Sabine Eckhardt,
Nikolaos Evangeliou,
Sabine Eckhardt,
Sabine Eckhardt,
Sabine Eckhardt,
A. Stohl
A. Stohl
A. Stohl
A. Stohl
Summary
This first global simulation of atmospheric microplastic transport showed that tire and brake wear particles can travel thousands of kilometers from roads to remote regions including polar areas. The model confirms that road traffic is a major global source of microplastic atmospheric deposition in areas far from any direct human activity.
In recent years, marine, freshwater and terrestrial pollution with microplastics has been discussed extensively, whereas atmospheric microplastic transport has been largely overlooked. Here, we present the first global simulation of atmospheric transport of microplastic particles produced by road traffic (TWPs – tire wear particles and BWPs – brake wear particles), a major source that can be quantified relatively well. We find a high transport efficiency of these particles to remote regions, such as the Arctic Ocean (14%). About 34% of the emitted coarse TWPs and 30% of the emitted coarse BWPs (100 kt yr-1 and 40 kt yr-1 respectively) were deposited in the World Ocean. These amounts are of similar magnitude as the total estimated terrestrial and riverine transport of TWPs and fibres to the ocean (64 kt yr-1). Atmospheric transport of microplastics is thus an underestimated threat to global terrestrial and marine ecosystems and affects air quality on a global scale, especially considering that other large but highly uncertain emissions of microplastics to the atmosphere exist. High latitudes and the Arctic are highlighted as an important receptor of mid-latitude emissions of road microplastics, which may imply a future climatic risk, considering their affinity to absorb solar radiation and accelerate melting.