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Papers
40 resultsShowing papers from École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État
ClearThe recovery of European freshwater biodiversity has come to a halt
Researchers analyzed 1,816 freshwater invertebrate community datasets from 22 European countries spanning 1968 to 2020, finding that biodiversity recovered steadily through the 1990s and 2000s thanks to water quality improvements, but has largely plateaued since the 2010s. Emerging threats including climate warming, emerging pollutants like microplastics, and invasive species are now offsetting earlier conservation gains, signaling that stronger protections are urgently needed.
Identification of Microplastics Using µ-Raman Spectroscopy in Surface and Groundwater Bodies of SE Attica, Greece
Scientists found microplastics in both surface water and groundwater samples across southeastern Greece, with shallow wells containing far more particles than deeper sources. Four common plastic types were identified: polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and PET. The detection of microplastics even in deeper groundwater suggests these particles can migrate through soil layers, raising concerns about contamination of drinking water sources.
Groundwater is a hidden global keystone ecosystem
This study argues that groundwater should be recognized as a "keystone ecosystem" because of its critical role in sustaining surface environments, biodiversity, and human water supplies. Over half of the world's land surface has significant interaction with groundwater, yet it remains overlooked in conservation planning. Protecting groundwater is essential for planetary health, including safeguarding water sources from emerging contaminants like microplastics.
The One Health Concept: 10 Years Old and a Long Road Ahead
This paper reviews the progress and challenges of the One Health concept, which recognizes that human, animal, and environmental health are deeply interconnected. Researchers discuss how emerging infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and environmental pollution including chemical contaminants all require a cross-disciplinary approach. The study emphasizes that addressing modern health threats requires integrating ecological and environmental sciences alongside traditional medicine and veterinary practices.
Increased assimilation efficiency and mortality rate in Gammarus fossarum exposed to PVC microplastics
Researchers exposed freshwater amphipods to PVC microplastics of two different sizes for 28 days and found that the animals experienced increased mortality, particularly from smaller particles at higher concentrations. While the amphipods did not eat less food, they showed higher assimilation efficiency when exposed to microplastics, possibly due to changes in their gut bacteria or energy being redirected toward defense. The study highlights that even relatively low concentrations of PVC microplastics can be harmful to these important freshwater organisms.
Microplastics storage at the sediment-water interface in a gravel-bed river: Importance of local hydro-sedimentary conditions in downwelling, upwelling, and sedimentation zones
Researchers studied how river water flow patterns affect where microplastics accumulate in gravel streambed sediments along the Ain River in France. They found that upwelling zones, where groundwater pushes up through the riverbed, had significantly higher microplastic concentrations at depth compared to downwelling zones. The findings reveal that the interaction between surface water and groundwater plays an important but previously underappreciated role in trapping and storing microplastics within riverbeds.
Quantitative study of microplastic degradation in urban hydrosystems: Comparing in situ environmentally aged microplastics vs. artificially aged materials generated via accelerated photo-oxidation
Researchers compared how polyethylene microplastics degrade in real urban water environments versus under controlled laboratory UV exposure. They found that lab-aged plastics showed primarily physical and chemical changes from UV light, while microplastics collected from stormwater and sediments also showed signs of biological degradation and hydrolysis. The study demonstrates that artificial aging alone does not fully replicate the complex degradation processes microplastics undergo in actual urban water systems.
Temporal evolution of plastic additive contents over the last decades in two major European rivers (Rhone and Rhine) from sediment cores analyses
Researchers analyzed sediment cores from the Rhone and Rhine rivers to track how plastic chemical additives have accumulated in freshwater sediments over recent decades. The study found increasing concentrations of phthalates and organophosphate esters over time, providing a historical record of plastic-related chemical pollution in two of Europe's most important river systems.
Time-varying microplastic contributions of a large urban and industrial area to river sediments
Researchers analyzed dated sediment cores from upstream and downstream of a large city to track microplastic pollution trends from the 1980s to 2021. They found that downstream contamination was roughly ten times higher than upstream, but that industrial-source plastics showed a relative decline since the 2000s. The study provides rare long-term historical data suggesting that some pollution reduction policies may be having a measurable effect.
Soil Science Challenges in a New Era: A Transdisciplinary Overview of Relevant Topics
This transdisciplinary overview examines the major challenges facing soil science in the 2020s, with contributions from twenty experts across related disciplines. Among the key concerns identified are microplastics as emerging soil pollutants, alongside issues like soil erosion, contamination, food security, and climate change. The study emphasizes the need for new computational technologies and in situ measurements to better understand soil processes at multiple scales.
Perspectives and pitfalls in preserving subterranean biodiversity through protected areas
Researchers examine why standard land-based nature reserves often fail to protect the unique species living in caves, underground streams, and other subterranean ecosystems, which are threatened by groundwater extraction, pollution, and land-use change. The authors argue that dedicated protections for underground habitats are urgently needed, especially given the high endemism — species found nowhere else on Earth — in these environments.
Groundwater is a hidden global keystone ecosystem
This study presents a global analysis showing that groundwater is a foundational ecosystem that supports over half of the world's land surface areas, yet it remains largely overlooked in conservation efforts. Researchers argue that groundwater should be recognized as a keystone ecosystem because its health directly influences rivers, wetlands, and other surface habitats. The findings call for including groundwater in global biodiversity protection frameworks before further depletion and pollution cause irreversible damage.
Tire road wear particles, microplastics and metals in sediment of stormwater detention basins: co-occurrence and ecological risk assessment
Researchers analyzed sediment from eleven stormwater detention basins in a French metropolitan area to assess contamination by tire wear particles, microplastics, and metals. They found that tire wear particles were consistently more abundant than microplastics across all sites, with industrial areas showing the highest levels at over 20,000 mg per kilogram. The study revealed a significant positive correlation between urban-related metals and both tire wear particles and microplastics, indicating these pollutants share common sources.
Microplastics pollution in inland aquatic ecosystems of India with a global perspective on sources, composition, and spatial distribution
Researchers reviewed microplastic contamination in India's rivers, lakes, and wetlands, finding widespread pollution across water, sediment, and wildlife, with concentrations peaking during monsoon season due to runoff. The review highlights a critical gap: most studies don't account for how water flow and seasonal variation affect where microplastics go, making it hard to gauge the true health risk to people and ecosystems.
The Duration of Dry Events Promotes PVC Film Fragmentation in Intermittent Rivers
Researchers investigated how river drying events and UV exposure affect the fragmentation of PVC films, relevant to understanding microplastic generation in intermittent rivers. They found that longer drying periods significantly increased the number of microplastic fragments produced during subsequent mechanical abrasion. The study suggests that climate-driven increases in river drying could accelerate the breakdown of plastic debris into microplastics in freshwater environments.
No evidence for behavioral or physiological effects of nanoplastics ingestion in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster
Researchers exposed Drosophila melanogaster to low and high concentrations of nanoplastics (1 µg/g and 1 mg/g) across several generations and measured emergence rate, mitochondrial activity, metabolism, body mass, and locomotion. No significant behavioral or physiological effects were detected, suggesting Drosophila may be less sensitive to nanoplastics than aquatic species.
On the New RILEM Technical Committee TC APD: Alternative Paving Materials – Design and Performance
This paper introduces the new RILEM Technical Committee on Alternative Paving Materials (TC APD), which builds on prior work to advance understanding of sustainable road materials—including plastic waste, recycled aggregates, and bio-based binders—from design through field performance.
Impact of Layering and Heterogeneity on the Transport Dynamics of Microplastics in Soil Columns: Implications for Groundwater Contamination
Researchers studied microplastic transport through layered and heterogeneous soil columns to assess groundwater contamination risk from agricultural microplastic inputs. Layered soils with contrasting textures showed preferential flow that accelerated microplastic transport to deeper horizons compared to homogeneous soils, suggesting heterogeneous agricultural soils may pose a higher groundwater contamination risk than previously modeled.
Multigenerational effects of nanoplastics on life-history traits and physiological responses in Drosophila melanogaster
Researchers conducted a multigenerational study exposing soil springtails (Folsomia candida) to polystyrene nanoplastics across two generations and assessed effects on life-history traits and physiology. Chronic multigenerational NP exposure reduced reproduction and survival, with effects persisting and sometimes intensifying in the second generation.
Contribution of different land use catchments on the microplastic pollution in detention basin sediments
Researchers measured microplastic pollution in detention basin sediments receiving runoff from catchments with different land uses — residential, commercial, and industrial — finding that industrial catchments contributed the highest microplastic loads. Particle morphology differed by land use type, with industrial sites associated with more fragments and commercial areas with more fibres.
Exploring possible controlling factors of spatial distribution of microplastics in sediments of a river segment (Loire River, France)
At 14 sites along an 8 km Loire River segment, microplastic concentrations and polymer types varied significantly by sedimentary environment, with grain size and flooding frequency as key controlling factors for MP spatial distribution in river sediments.
Microplastic trapping in dam reservoirs driven by complex hydrosedimentary processes (Villerest Reservoir, Loire River, France)
This study investigated microplastic trapping in the Villerest reservoir on the Loire River in France using geomorphological and sedimentological analysis combined with microFTIR imaging. The reservoir concentrated microplastics in sediment at concentrations on the order of 10 items per kilogram dry weight, with spatial distribution driven by complex hydrodynamic and sediment transport processes.
Spatial Variability and Combined Risk of Metal elements and Microplastics along the River Severn (UK)
Scientists found that the River Severn in the UK contains both toxic metals (like lead and zinc) and microplastics throughout its length, with the highest pollution levels near cities and old mining areas. These pollutants tend to cluster together in "hotspots," meaning people living downstream could be exposed to multiple types of contamination at once through their drinking water. This research helps identify the most polluted areas so water managers can focus cleanup efforts where they're needed most to protect public health.
Carbonate mineral precipitation enhances microplastic deposition in karst rivers globally
Scientists found that tiny plastic particles in rivers stick to calcium-based minerals and sink to the river bottom, especially in areas with limestone and similar rocks. This natural process acts like a filter that traps microplastics before they reach the ocean, which could be good news since it reduces the amount of plastic pollution flowing into marine food chains. Understanding this process could help us develop better ways to remove microplastics from rivers in different geological regions.