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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Macroplastic surface characteristics change during wind abrasion
ClearThe effects of sediment properties on the aeolian abrasion and surface characteristics of microplastics
Laboratory experiments quantified how sediment properties influence the rate at which wind abrades and fragments exposed microplastics, generating smaller particles. The results improve understanding of aeolian (wind-driven) microplastic fragmentation as a source of airborne micro- and nanoplastics in arid environments.
The effects of sediment properties on the aeolian abrasion and surface characteristics of microplastics
This study used laboratory wind tunnel experiments to examine how microplastics are physically abraded when transported by wind alongside sand and soil particles, testing angular, sub-rounded, and rounded sediment grains over extended periods. The abrasion altered the surface chemistry and texture of the plastic particles in ways that could affect how they interact with pollutants and organisms in the environment. The work reveals that wind transport does not merely move microplastics — it transforms them, potentially changing their environmental hazard profile.
Impact of erodent shape on microplastic breakdown during wind erosion
Researchers designed abrasion simulation experiments using three different erodent shapes (rounded, sub-angular, and angular sediments) and three sizes of polyethylene spheres to investigate how erodent geometry influences the mechanical breakdown of microplastics during wind erosion, finding that erodent shape significantly affects fragmentation rate and the generation of secondary nanoplastics.
Influence of microplastics on small-scale soil surface roughness and implications for wind transport of microplastic particles
Researchers investigated how microplastics mixed into soil affect surface roughness at small scales, finding that microplastics altered surface texture in ways that could increase soil susceptibility to wind erosion and promote atmospheric transport of microplastic particles.
Impact of erodent shape on microplastic breakdown during wind erosion
Researchers simulated wind erosion abrasion using three sediment erodent shapes (rounded, sub-angular, angular) against three sizes of polyethylene spheres to quantify how erodent geometry drives the physical breakdown of microplastics into smaller particles, including nanoplastics, in aeolian transport environments.
Is plastic dust different from mineral dust? Results from idealized wind tunnel experiments.
Researchers conducted wind tunnel experiments to compare how plastic particles of different sizes detach from flat surfaces in wind compared to mineral dust particles. Plastic particles required higher wind speeds to become airborne than mineral dust of similar size, likely due to shape differences. These findings inform atmospheric transport models for predicting how far and how much microplastic can be carried by wind across the landscape.
Wind erosion as a driver for transport of light density microplastics
Researchers investigated wind erosion as a transport mechanism for microplastics across different land uses in Iran and found that wind-eroded sediments contained significant quantities of light-density microplastic particles. Agricultural and barren lands showed higher microplastic concentrations in wind-eroded material. The study identifies wind as an important but overlooked pathway for spreading microplastic contamination across landscapes.
Is transport of microplastics different from mineral particles? Idealized wind tunnel studies on polyethylene microspheres
Wind tunnel experiments revealed that plastic (polyethylene) microspheres behave differently from mineral dust particles when transported by wind, particularly on hydrophobic surfaces, where plastic particles detach and become airborne more readily. Particle-to-particle collisions were found to both assist and impede detachment. These findings help explain why microplastics are found in remote atmospheric environments and improve models for predicting how far plastic particles can travel through the air from pollution sources.
Breakdown and Modification of Microplastic Beads by Aeolian Abrasion
Researchers studied how wind-driven saltation, a natural sand transport process, physically breaks down and modifies microplastic beads. They found that simulated wind abrasion reduced microplastic diameter by 30-50% over several hundred hours, with over 95% of the fragments produced being smaller than 10 micrometers. The study demonstrates that aeolian processes can generate large quantities of secondary microplastic fragments small enough to be inhaled, representing a previously underappreciated pathway of microplastic breakdown in the environment.
Is transport of microplastics different from that of mineral dust? Results from idealized wind tunnel studies
Researchers conducted wind tunnel experiments to examine the detachment and transport behavior of microplastics ranging from 38 to 125 um in diameter from idealized substrates, comparing their aerodynamic behavior to the well-established literature on mineral dust transport. The study identified key differences in microplastic detachment mechanisms relevant to understanding long-range atmospheric dispersal of plastic particles.
Microplastics in agricultural soils from a semi-arid region and their transport by wind erosion
Researchers found microplastics heterogeneously distributed in agricultural soils from semi-arid Iran, with plastic-mulched and wastewater-irrigated fields both contaminated, and demonstrated that wind erosion can transport microplastics from soil surfaces to new locations.
Secondary Microplastics Generation in the Sea Swash Zone With Coarse Bottom Sediments: Laboratory Experiments
Laboratory experiments in a simulated beach swash zone showed that mechanical abrasion of polypropylene, polyethylene, and polystyrene debris generates secondary microplastic particles in the 0.5-5 mm size range. The study provides direct experimental evidence that wave action on beaches is an active mechanism producing new microplastics from macroplastic debris.
Quantification of wind-driven MP mobilisation potential in semi-arid regions in Kazakhstan using wind tunnel experiments
Researchers used wind tunnel experiments to quantify wind-driven microplastic mobilisation potential in the semi-arid steppe landscape of northeastern Kazakhstan, finding that the loess soils, flat terrain, and erosive climate create conditions for significant aeolian MP emission particularly as modern agricultural intensification increases plastic inputs.
Wind- and rain-driven macroplastic mobilization and transport on land
Researchers conducted laboratory experiments exposing four types of macroplastics on terrains of varying roughness and slope to changing wind speeds and rain intensities to quantify land-based mobilization and transport. They found mobilization probability and transport velocity depend strongly on terrain and material properties, with plastic bags mobilizing at 100% probability at Beaufort 3 while other plastics mobilized at below 50%, and mobilization rates were higher on paved surfaces than grass.
Tracing the horizontal transport of microplastics on rough surfaces
Wind tunnel experiments showed that microplastics of different shapes are transported horizontally across rough surfaces at wind speeds above threshold values, with flatter and lighter particles moving farther per wind impulse, providing empirical data for modeling atmospheric microplastic dispersal across terrestrial landscapes.
Amount and characteristics of microplastic and organic matter in wind-blown sediment at different heights within the aeolian sand saltation layer
Researchers investigated microplastics in wind-blown sediment at different heights within the aeolian saltation layer over farmlands using plastic mulch, finding that wind erosion redistributes microplastics and enriches them at specific heights above the soil surface.
Novel Release Mechanism of Microplastics and Nanoplastics by Environmentally Relevant Sand Abrasion
Researchers designed a device to quantify microplastic and nanoplastic release from LDPE films through surface abrasion by dry sand over seven months. They found that degradation produced particles across a wide size range and characterised dynamic changes in surface chemistry, identifying abrasion as a significant but underappreciated MP generation mechanism.
A neglected transport of plastic debris to cities from farmland in remote arid regions
Researchers found that wind erosion in semiarid farmland regions transports significant quantities of plastic debris, including microplastics, to distant urban areas, identifying a previously neglected long-range transport pathway in arid environments.
Combined Effects of UV Exposure Duration and Mechanical Abrasion on Microplastic Fragmentation by Polymer Type
Researchers studied how UV exposure duration and mechanical abrasion combine to fragment different plastic types under simulated beach conditions. They found that polypropylene was far more susceptible to fragmentation than polyethylene after UV weathering, while expanded polystyrene broke apart readily even without UV exposure. The experiments showed that a large fraction of fragmented particles were too small to recover, suggesting that significant amounts of nanoplastic are being generated on beaches.
Microplastics formation based on degradation characteristics of beached plastic bags
Laboratory weathering of plastic bags under UV and mechanical stress produced microplastic fragments of varied sizes and shapes, with degradation rate and fragment characteristics depending on the bag material and environmental conditions.
Simulated experimental investigation of microplastic weathering in marine environment
Researchers simulated microplastic weathering under marine conditions, finding that exposure to UV light, saltwater, and mechanical abrasion progressively degraded plastic surfaces, increased surface roughness, and enhanced the adsorption capacity of contaminants onto microplastic particles.
On mechanical fragmentation of single-use plastics in the sea swash zone with different types of bottom sediments: Insights from laboratory experiments
Laboratory experiments simulated wave action and beach conditions to study how four common plastic types mechanically fragment from centimeter-scale pieces into microplastics, with fragmentation rates depending on plastic type and sediment composition. Understanding these fragmentation dynamics helps explain how beach plastic litter generates the microplastic particles found in coastal environments.
Wind erosion induced low-density microplastics migration at landscape scale in a semi-arid region of northern China
Researchers sampled agricultural fields with plastic film mulching and adjacent downwind grasslands in a semi-arid region of northern China, finding that wind erosion transported low-density microplastic fragments at landscape scale from agricultural sources into natural grassland ecosystems.
Erosion of rigid plastics in turbid (sandy) water: quantitative assessment for marine environments and formation of microplastics
Researchers quantified the erosion rate of rigid plastic materials by water-borne sand under conditions representing turbid rivers and coastal oceans. Polypropylene showed the highest erosion response at a surface degradation rate of 5,160 um per year, demonstrating that mechanical erosion by suspended sediments is a significant source of microplastic generation in aquatic environments.