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Soil structure strongly controls vertical microplastic transport in floodplain soils
2026
Score: 40
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Markus Rolf,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Markus Rolf,
Markus Rolf,
Markus Rolf,
Lennart Echstenkämper,
Florian Pohl
Florian Pohl
Florian Pohl
Florian Pohl
Florian Pohl
Florian Pohl
Florian Pohl
Florian Pohl
Rizwan Khaleel,
Rizwan Khaleel,
Rizwan Khaleel,
Rizwan Khaleel,
Rizwan Khaleel,
Rizwan Khaleel,
Rizwan Khaleel,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Hannes Laermanns,
Christina Bogner,
Markus Rolf,
Markus Rolf,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Markus Rolf,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Markus Rolf,
Markus Rolf,
Markus Rolf,
Markus Rolf,
Markus Rolf,
Markus Rolf,
Markus Rolf,
Markus Rolf,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Markus Rolf,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Rizwan Khaleel,
Florian Pohl
Christina Bogner,
Hannes Laermanns,
Florian Pohl
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Markus Rolf,
Florian Pohl
Lennart Echstenkämper,
Rizwan Khaleel,
Hannes Laermanns,
Christina Bogner,
Rizwan Khaleel,
Rizwan Khaleel,
Hannes Laermanns,
Markus Rolf,
Hannes Laermanns,
Florian Pohl
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Rizwan Khaleel,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Markus Rolf,
Christina Bogner,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Christina Bogner,
Florian Pohl
Christina Bogner,
Florian Pohl
Christina Bogner,
Florian Pohl
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Rizwan Khaleel,
Christina Bogner,
Hannes Laermanns,
Rizwan Khaleel,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Hannes Laermanns,
Hannes Laermanns,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Hannes Laermanns,
Christina Bogner,
Florian Pohl
Rizwan Khaleel,
Florian Pohl
Florian Pohl
Hannes Laermanns,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Florian Pohl
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Christina Bogner,
Florian Pohl
Florian Pohl
Summary
Scientists studied how tiny plastic particles move through soil during floods and found that these microplastics can quickly travel deep underground through natural channels like old root holes and worm tunnels. This matters because microplastics in soil can eventually contaminate our groundwater and food crops, but current methods for predicting where they'll go don't account for these underground pathways. Understanding how microplastics move through soil helps us better protect our water supplies and farmland from plastic pollution.
Floodplains are highly dynamic systems and can accumulate large quantities of microplastics (MPs), yet the mechanisms controlling their vertical redistribution after deposition remain poorly constrained. We investigate MP infiltration and transport in undisturbed Rhine floodplain soils using intact 0–20 cm cores subjected to a controlled flooding scenario. A particle mix of polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (20–75 µm), cryomilled and pre-incubated in Rhine water to allow biofilm formation, was applied to the soil surface prior to flooding. Particles were labelled with Rhodamine-B and metal oxides to enable complementary optical and elemental tracing. Water flow and tracer transport were monitored using D₂O breakthrough curves and continuous gravimetric measurements.After freezing, soil columns were sectioned into 2 cm layers, and MPs were quantified by fluorescence microscopy, µ-XRF, and AI-assisted particle recognition. Results indicate rapid MP infiltration and vertical transport within the soil. MP breakthrough was observed in all columns, although breakthrough timing and concentrations varied among replicates. Vertical transport was strongly governed by spatial heterogeneity and preferential flow paths, particularly biogenic macropores, whereas saturated hydraulic conductivity alone did not reliably predict MP movement. These findings highlight the dominant role of soil structural controls in floodplain MP transport and challenge the use of bulk hydraulic parameters for predicting MP redistribution during flooding events.