Papers

Trends, challenges, and research pathways in emerging contaminants: a comprehensive bibliometric analysis

This large-scale bibliometric analysis reviewed over 62,000 studies on emerging contaminants published between 2000 and 2024, finding that microplastics are among the fastest-growing areas of environmental health research. The analysis highlights that understanding how microplastics interact with other pollutants like pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors is a critical frontier for protecting human health.

A Synthesis of Global Coastal Ocean Greenhouse Gas Fluxes

This large-scale study measured greenhouse gas exchanges between the coastal ocean and atmosphere, finding that while coastal waters absorb carbon dioxide, they also release nitrous oxide and methane that offset much of that climate benefit. While focused on greenhouse gases rather than microplastics, the study is relevant because climate change and ocean chemistry changes affect how microplastics behave in marine environments. Warming oceans and changing chemistry could influence how microplastics break down and move through the food chain.

Quantitative assessment of visual microscopy as a tool for microplastic research: Recommendations for improving methods and reporting

Researchers conducted a multi-laboratory study across six countries to assess how accurately visual microscopy identifies microplastics in water samples. They found significant variability between laboratories in particle counts, size measurements, and material identification, with accuracy declining for smaller and transparent particles. The study recommends improved standardization and quality control measures to make microscopy a more reliable tool in microplastic research.

The Application of Tannic Acid-Coated Magnetite Nanoparticles for Recovery of Microplastics from the Water System

Researchers developed a method using tannic acid-coated magnetic nanoparticles to capture and remove polystyrene and PET microplastics from water, achieving up to 98% removal efficiency. The magnetic approach allows easy recovery of the particles from water using a magnet. Better removal technologies like this could help reduce the amount of microplastics reaching drinking water sources and ultimately lowering human exposure.

Global meta-analysis of microplastic contamination in reservoirs with a novel framework

Microplastic abundance in reservoirs worldwide varied over 2-6 orders of magnitude, with small particles (<1 mm) comprising over 60% of total counts; geographic location, seasonal variation, and land-use type were the main drivers, and current mitigation policies were found insufficient.

An approach to assess potential environmental mercury release, food web bioaccumulation, and human dietary methylmercury uptake from decommissioning offshore oil and gas infrastructure

Researchers developed an approach to assess the environmental risk of mercury released from decommissioned offshore oil and gas pipelines, including potential bioaccumulation through food webs and dietary exposure to methylmercury in humans. The study provides a framework for evaluating whether in-situ pipeline abandonment poses acceptable environmental risks based on sediment and water quality guidelines.

Non-buoyant microplastic settling velocity varies with biofilm growth and ambient water salinity

Researchers investigated how biofilms (thin layers of bacteria that grow on plastic surfaces), water salinity, and suspended clay affect how fast microplastics sink in water, finding that biofilm growth alone increased sinking speed by up to 130% within just hours. These findings show that current models predicting where microplastics end up in rivers and oceans are too simplistic, and that biological and chemical conditions must be factored in for accurate predictions.

Closing the gap between climate regulation and food security with nano iron oxides

Current State of Microplastic Pollution Research Data: Trends in Availability and Sources of Open Data

Researchers analyzed data sharing practices in the microplastics research community and found that less than a third of published articles included a data sharing statement. Of the datasets found in online repositories, most were provided as supplementary material rather than in dedicated data repositories, suggesting that the rate of open data sharing lags behind the rapid growth in microplastics publications.

Novel insights into the role of bisphenol A (BPA) in genomic instability

This review examines how bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical widely used in polycarbonate and PVC plastics, contributes to genomic instability beyond its well-known effects as an endocrine disruptor. Researchers found evidence that BPA can damage DNA, disrupt cell division, and interfere with DNA repair mechanisms. The findings suggest that BPA exposure may play a role in promoting the kind of genetic damage that can lead to serious cellular dysfunction.

300 Psilocybin-induced changes in neural reactivity to alcohol and emotional cues in patients with alcohol use disorder: An fMRI pilot study

This fMRI pilot study found that psilocybin increased prefrontal cortex and caudate activity while decreasing insular and cerebellar activity in patients with alcohol use disorder, suggesting enhanced emotional regulation and diminished craving. The study is not related to microplastic research.

Causes, Responses, and Implications of Anthropogenic versus Natural Flow Intermittence in River Networks

Researchers reviewed the differences between natural and human-caused flow intermittence in rivers, examining how anthropogenic drivers such as dams and water diversions alter drying patterns compared to natural seasonal cycles. They found that human-caused flow intermittence produces distinct ecological impacts because the affected organisms have not evolved adaptations to these artificial drying regimes. The study emphasizes that failing to distinguish between natural and anthropogenic intermittence could undermine river management and increase risks to downstream ecosystems.

Measuring PETase enzyme kinetics by single-molecule microscopy

Scientists developed a new single-molecule microscopy technique to watch individual PETase enzymes, which break down PET plastic, in action at a level of detail not previously possible. The approach revealed that an enhanced version of the enzyme binds to plastic surfaces faster and stays attached longer than the natural version, providing insights that could help engineer even more effective plastic-degrading enzymes.

Microplastic polymer accumulation, distribution, and toxicity in sediment of a freshwater tidal marsh, USA

Researchers examined microplastic distribution and polymer composition in sediment cores from a freshwater tidal marsh in Pennsylvania, identifying over 4,500 microplastic particles across 29 polymer types. Polypropylene, polyurethane, and tire rubber were the most abundant polymers found. The study assessed toxicity risks of six common polymers and provides new data on microplastic contamination in an understudied freshwater wetland environment.

Pristine and Aged Microplastics Can Nucleate Ice through Immersion Freezing

Researchers tested whether microplastics can act as ice-nucleating particles in the atmosphere and found that all four polymer types studied could trigger ice formation through immersion freezing. Environmental aging processes such as UV exposure and ozone treatment generally decreased ice-nucleating activity for most plastics, though PVC showed increased activity after aging. The findings suggest that airborne microplastics may play a previously unrecognized role in atmospheric ice formation and cloud processes.

Effects of plastic mulch film residues on wheat rhizosphere and soil properties

A pot experiment compared effects of polyethylene and biodegradable plastic mulch film residues on wheat rhizosphere bacteria, soil volatiles, and soil chemistry, finding significant effects from biodegradable plastic residues on rhizosphere bacterial communities and soil carbon fractions. The results suggest biodegradable plastic alternatives may have their own distinct soil impacts.

Ranking environmental degradation trends of plastic marine debris based on physical properties and molecular structure

Researchers used a data-driven approach to rank how quickly different types of plastic marine debris degrade in the ocean, identifying glass transition temperature and water repellency as the key molecular features that determine whether a plastic breaks down fast, slowly, or barely at all. The findings provide a predictive framework for understanding which ocean plastics pose the longest-lasting pollution threat.

The deformation of marine snow enables its disaggregation in simulated oceanic shear

Researchers found that marine snow aggregates made from diatoms and microplastics can deform and fragment under realistic oceanic shear conditions, with implications for understanding how aggregated microplastics are redistributed throughout the water column.

Plastic pollution in riverbeds fundamentally affects natural sand transport processes

Researchers used laboratory flume experiments to show that plastic particles mixed into sandy riverbeds — even at low concentrations — disrupt the normal formation of ripples and dunes, causing irregular erosion patterns and pushing more sand into suspension in the water column. This means plastic pollution is not a passive bystander in river systems but actively alters the physical processes that shape river channels and transport sediment downstream.

Multi-step processing of replication stress-derived nascent strand DNA gaps by MRE11 and EXO1 nucleases

Researchers found that gaps in newly copied DNA — a form of replication stress — are processed by two enzymes into double-strand breaks, which are among the most dangerous forms of DNA damage. Critically, common plastic-related chemicals BPA and DEHP were shown to trigger this same DNA-damaging process, linking everyday plastic exposure to genomic instability.

Atlantification: Facing the Atlantic from the Arctic – a provocation

This essay explores the concept of Atlantification, the strengthening inflow of warmer, saltier Atlantic waters into the Arctic Ocean, and its implications for Atlantic studies as a field. The study reflects on how ecological changes driven by ocean warming and pollution, including plastic contamination, are reshaping our understanding of ocean connectivity and the cultural, political, and environmental dimensions of marine systems.

A multilevel dataset of microplastic abundance in the world’s upper ocean and the Laurentian Great Lakes

Researchers synthesized 8,218 pelagic microplastic samples from the world's oceans into a multilevel public dataset, calibrating for sampling differences and vertical mixing effects to provide standardized global estimates of upper ocean microplastic abundance.

A sustainable trend in COVID-19 research: An environmental perspective

This review analyzes the sustainable research trends linking COVID-19 and the environment, examining how the pandemic affected environmental conditions including increased plastic waste from personal protective equipment and medical supplies.

Differential Morphological and Physicochemical Responses of Polyvinyl Chloride and Polyamide-12 Micro- and Nanoplastics to Fenton Oxidation

Researchers applied Fenton oxidation to 5 µm PVC and polyamide-12 microplastics and characterized changes in physicochemical properties using multimodal methods. Oxidative aging altered surface chemistry, crystallinity, and particle morphology differently for each polymer, with implications for how aged MPs interact with organisms and sorb additional contaminants.