0
Article Tier 2 Sign in to save

Microplastic Fate and Impacts in the Environment

2020 14 citations

AI summary Read the abstract

Microplastic pollution has been documented across virtually every ecosystem on Earth — from ocean surfaces to deep-sea floors, polar regions to tropical soils, and in organisms spanning the full breadth of the food web. This pervasive distribution confirms that microplastic exposure is now universal and that understanding long-term fate and biological impacts is one of the most pressing environmental health challenges of our time.

Study Type Environmental

Microplastic pollution has been reported in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems, from the sea surface to sediments, from beaches to the deep sea, from lakes to rivers, from the tropics to the poles, and in a wide range of organisms representing different...

More Papers Like This

Article Tier 2

Microplastic Fate and Impacts in the Environment

AI summary Read the abstract

Microplastic pollution has been documented across virtually every ecosystem on Earth, from sea surfaces to deep sediments, polar regions to tropical rivers, and inside a wide range of organisms spanning multiple trophic levels. This comprehensive environmental presence confirms that microplastics pose systemic risks to biodiversity and human health through multiple exposure pathways.

Article Tier 2

Microplastics and the Environment: A Review

AI summary Read the abstract

Researchers reviewed the widespread presence of microplastics in aquatic environments, finding that these tiny plastic particles — made up of complex chemical and polymer combinations — have become critical contaminants in water and sediment globally. The review underscores growing concern about their ecological impact and the need for more targeted research and mitigation strategies.

Article Tier 2

Environmental Fate and Effects of Microplastics on Organisms

AI summary Read the abstract

This review examined the environmental fate of microplastics — including fragmentation dynamics, sorption of co-contaminants, and bioaccumulation through food webs — alongside their toxic effects on organisms ranging from invertebrates to mammals. Understanding how plastics persist, concentrate toxicants, and biomagnify through trophic levels is essential for predicting long-term health consequences for wildlife and human consumers.

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.

Email me about

Share this paper