Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Comment on egusphere-2025-1821

This peer review comment on an atmospheric microplastics study characterizes source profiles and emission factors for eight polymer types and three plasticizer classes from plastic burning, fruit bag burning, road traffic, agricultural film, and livestock breeding sources.

2025
Article Tier 2

Comment on egusphere-2025-1821

This is a peer review comment on an atmospheric microplastics preprint examining source profiles and emission factors for plastic-derived particles from various pollution sources, contributing to the open review process for the manuscript.

2025
Article Tier 2

Comment on egusphere-2025-1821

This is a peer review comment on an atmospheric microplastics study examining MP source profiles from plastic burning, road traffic, and agricultural sources, part of the open peer review process for the preprint.

2025
Article Tier 2

Comment on egusphere-2025-1821

This is a peer review comment on an atmospheric microplastics preprint characterizing source profiles and emission factors from plastic burning, road traffic, and agricultural sources, contributing to the open review process for improving the study.

2025
Article Tier 2

Comment on egusphere-2025-1821

This is a peer review comment on an atmospheric microplastics preprint studying MP emission sources, contributing to the open peer review process for the study.

2025
Article Tier 2

Insight into the size-resolved markers and eco-health significance of microplastics from typical sources in northwest China

Researchers characterized atmospheric microplastics emitted from five source types — plastic burning, fruit bag burning, road traffic, agricultural film, and livestock breeding — in northwest China's Guanzhong Plain, finding distinct polymer and plasticizer profiles for each source. Plastic burning produced the highest diversity of polymer types, providing source-specific fingerprints useful for pollution management.

2025
Article Tier 2

Insight into the size-resolved markers and eco-health significance of microplastics from typical sources in northwest China

Researchers characterized airborne microplastics and plasticizers emitted from five common sources in northwest China—plastic burning, fruit bag burning, road traffic, agricultural film, and livestock breeding—finding source-specific polymer and chemical profiles in PM2.5 and PM10 fractions.

2025 Atmospheric chemistry and physics
Article Tier 2

Comment on egusphere-2023-1025

This comment discusses a study on atmospheric transport of microplastic particulate matter, noting that long-range atmospheric dispersal means microplastics reach virtually every environment on Earth, including remote areas far from human settlements. Understanding atmospheric transport mechanisms is key to modeling global microplastic deposition.

2023
Review Tier 2

A review of atmospheric microplastics pollution: In-depth sighting of sources, analytical methods, physiognomies, transport and risks

This review provides an in-depth analysis of atmospheric microplastic pollution, examining sources, detection methods, physical characteristics, transport mechanisms, and health risks. Researchers found that indoor environments tend to contain higher concentrations of airborne microplastics than outdoor settings, and that current detection methods are limited in their ability to capture the smallest particles. The study emphasizes the need for standardized sampling procedures and more research into the health effects of inhaling microplastic particles.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 118 citations
Article Tier 2

Comment on egusphere-2023-1025

This comment discusses a study on atmospheric transport of microplastics, noting that the mechanisms that move microplastics through the air differ importantly from those for mineral dust. Better understanding these transport pathways is essential for accurately predicting where airborne microplastics deposit globally.

2023
Article Tier 2

Microplastic in the Air

This review provides a comprehensive overview of methods for collecting, extracting, and identifying airborne microplastics, examining their sources, transport mechanisms, and persistence in urban and atmospheric environments, and establishing a methodological foundation for future research on microplastic air pollution.

2025
Article Tier 2

Comment on egusphere-2025-605

Researchers examined the atmospheric transport of microplastics, focusing on how their settling behavior — determined by physical properties including size and shape — governs the dispersion of large microplastic particles through the atmosphere and their deposition across environments.

2025
Article Tier 2

Comment on egusphere-2023-1025

This comment paper examines the atmospheric transport of microplastics as particulate matter, comparing it to the well-studied transport of mineral dust. Understanding how air currents carry microplastics to remote environments helps explain their ubiquitous presence even in pristine ecosystems far from human activity.

2023
Article Tier 2

Atmospheric microplastic emissions from land and ocean

Researchers compiled a comprehensive atmospheric microplastic dataset and derived top-down and bottom-up emission estimates for particles in the 5-100 micrometer size range from both land and ocean sources, providing gridded emissions data in multiple formats for use in atmospheric transport modelling.

2025 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Various Perspectives on Occurrence, Sources, Measurement Techniques, Transport, and Insights Into Future Scope for Research of Atmospheric Microplastics

This review synthesized current knowledge on atmospheric microplastics, covering their sources, occurrence across global regions, measurement techniques, and transport mechanisms, while identifying key research gaps for future investigation.

2023 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Airborne Micro- and Nanoplastics: Source Implications from Particulate Matter Composition

Researchers simultaneously measured airborne micro- and nanoplastics (AMNPs) and particulate matter (PM) across three sites in Japan in different seasons, identifying shared and distinct sources. AMNPs co-occurred with combustion-related PM components, providing evidence that airborne plastics partly originate from the same sources as fine particulate air pollution.

2025 Preprints.org
Article Tier 2

Comment on egusphere-2025-1575

Researchers developed a representation of airborne microplastics within the UK Earth System Model (UKESM1.1), adding both fragment and fibre types across multiple aerosol size modes that interact with existing deposition and ageing processes. Simulated microplastics showed higher concentrations over land but were transported to remote regions including Antarctica, highlighting their potential air quality and climate relevance.

2025
Article Tier 2

Reply on RC5

Researchers characterized microplastic source profiles and plasticizer emissions (phthalates, benzothiazoles, bisphenol A) from five pollution sources (plastic burning, traffic, agricultural film, livestock) in PM2.5 and PM10 aerosols across the Guanzhong Plain in northern China, providing source-resolved atmospheric microplastic data.

2025
Article Tier 2

Atmospheric microplastic emissions from land and ocean

Researchers quantified atmospheric microplastic emissions from both land and ocean surfaces, finding that re-suspension of deposited plastics from land and sea spray from the ocean are significant sources of airborne particles. The results highlight that the ocean is not just a sink but also a source of airborne microplastics.

2025 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

A preliminary comparison of microplastic type, size, and composition in atmospheric and foliage samples in an urban scenario

Researchers compared microplastic types, sizes, and polymer compositions in atmospheric dry and wet deposition samples from different settings. The study found that atmospheric deposition is a meaningful pathway for microplastic dispersal, with variation in particle characteristics across sites.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and nanoplastics in the air: a review

This review examines the occurrence, sources, physicochemical characteristics, and sampling and analytical methods for microplastics and nanoplastics in atmospheric air across urban, industrial, coastal, and remote environments. The authors find that fibers and fragments are the dominant atmospheric microplastic forms, that no standardized sampling methods currently exist, and that both passive and active collection approaches are used across the literature with limited comparability.

2025 Vietnam Journal of Science and Technology/Science and Technology
Article Tier 2

A Review of the Sources, Environmental Behaviours and Human Health of Atmospheric Microplastics

This review examined sources, environmental behaviors, and human health impacts of atmospheric microplastics, distinguishing indoor from outdoor MP exposure and summarizing evidence on how airborne MPs are emitted, transported, transformed, and inhaled.

2023 Johnson Matthey Technology Review 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding the sources of atmospheric microplastics

Scientists studied where tiny plastic particles in the air come from by analyzing data from cities, suburbs, and remote areas around the world. They found that no single source explains all the microplastics we breathe—instead, different locations have different main sources, like ocean spray in some areas and urban pollution in others. This research is important because understanding where airborne microplastics come from will help scientists better predict human exposure and potential health risks from breathing these particles.

2026
Article Tier 2

Tracking the sources of atmospheric microplastic using FLEXPART v.

Researchers used the FLEXPART atmospheric particle dispersion model to track the sources and transport pathways of atmospheric microplastics detected at monitoring sites around the world, accounting for the complex shapes of microplastic fibres that complicate standard atmospheric transport modelling. The study aimed to reduce uncertainty in source attribution for atmospheric microplastics and characterise the relative contributions of different emission sources including urban areas, oceans, and agricultural regions.

2024