We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Atmospheric transport of microplastics from land to sea is inefficient: Evidence from multimedia observations
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers used multimedia observations from both land and sea to quantify the transport efficiency of atmospheric microplastics from land to ocean, finding that atmospheric transport is an inefficient pathway for delivering land-sourced microplastics to marine environments compared to other transport routes.
Microplastics have been recognized as a global marine environmental issue, but their sources, particularly the contribution of atmospheric transport, remain obscure. Here, we determine the transport efficiency of atmospheric microplastics (AMPs) from land to sea using multimedia observations from both sea and land in the South China Sea in conjunction with atmospheric trajectory modelling. Furthermore, we extrapolate AMP inputs to the ocean at a global scale. The results show that only 1.8 % of AMPs are transported and deposited into the sea, with most remaining on land. The global mass of AMPs entering the sea is 262.98 t, which is much less than the river exports. Therefore, we conclude that the atmospheric transport is not the main pathway for land-sourced microplastics to enter the sea, and suggest that the foremost step of curbing the worsening of marine MP pollution is to control the inflow of riverine MPs into the sea.
More Papers Like This
Efficient Atmospheric Transport of Microplastics over Asia and Adjacent Oceans
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers developed an atmospheric transport model for microplastics over Asia, estimating annual emissions of 310 gigagrams and finding that atmospheric transport efficiently carries microplastics from land sources to remote ocean regions across the Pacific and Indian oceans.
Is atmospheric pathway a significant contributor to microplastics in the marine environment?
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers reviewed evidence for atmospheric transport of microplastics to and from marine environments, finding that wind-driven processes like sand storms, bubble bursts, and sea spray can eject microplastics from ocean surfaces into aerosols, making the atmosphere a significant but understudied pathway in the marine microplastic cycle.
Global inventory of atmospheric fibrous microplastics input into the ocean: An implication from the indoor origin
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers quantified atmospheric fibrous microplastic transport from land to ocean in the Asia-Pacific region using data from nine ocean cruises between 2018 and 2019, developing a global inventory of atmospheric microplastic input into marine environments. The study concluded that atmospheric deposition is a significant and previously underestimated pathway for inland microplastics to reach the ocean.
Exponential decrease of airborne microplastics: From megacity to open ocean
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers measured atmospheric microplastics across the western Pacific Ocean and found concentrations decreased exponentially with distance from megacity sources, confirming that atmospheric transport is a major pathway for microplastics entering the open ocean.
Atmospheric microplastics over ocean: abundance, distribution and transport
AI summary Read the abstract
This conference contribution presents research on atmospheric microplastics over the open ocean, based on three transoceanic surveys covering the Pacific and Atlantic. Atmospheric transport is an important pathway for microplastics to reach even remote ocean areas far from land-based sources. The work quantifies how much plastic is deposited from air to ocean across different ocean basins.
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.