Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Nehirlerde Mikroplastik Kirliliği ve Hidrodinamik Modellenmesi

This Turkish-language review covers microplastic pollution in rivers, including sources, transport mechanisms, and hydrodynamic modeling approaches. Rivers are the primary pathway by which microplastics move from land-based sources to the ocean.

2021 European Journal of Science and Technology 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Challenges in Simulating Pollutant Behavior in Watercourses with Diverse Ecological and Structural Features

Despite its title referencing pollutant behavior in watercourses, this paper studies computational fluid dynamics modeling of how different types of pollutants disperse in rivers with complex physical features — not microplastic pollution specifically. It examines how liquid pollutants and solid particles spread through waterways with bridges, vegetation zones, and side channels, and is only tangentially relevant to microplastics.

2025 Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of microplastic pollution in a lotic ecosystem and its ecological risk

Researchers measured microplastic contamination in water and sediment of the Tigris River in Iraq across dry and wet seasons, finding high abundances of 3429.2 MPs/m3 in water and 121.2 MPs/kg in sediment. Fiber and fragment morphologies dominated, composed primarily of polyethylene and polypropylene, with ecological risk assessment indicating significant pollution hazard.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Modelling Microplastic Transport in River Systems Using the SWAT Hydrological Model

Researchers developed a novel modelling approach using the SWAT hydrological model to simulate microplastic transport through river basin systems, integrating hydrological and physical plastic properties. The model provides a tool for understanding the spatial and temporal dynamics of freshwater microplastic pollution to support mitigation planning.

2025 Natural and Engineering Sciences
Article Tier 2

Occurrence of Micro-Plastics in Tigris River Water in Middle of Iraq

This study detected microplastic particles in surface water samples from the Tigris River in Baghdad, Iraq, finding between 27 and 74 particles per sample with polypropylene and polyethylene being the most common types. The results establish a baseline for microplastic contamination in a major Middle Eastern river system that supplies water to millions of people.

2024 IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science 2 citations
Article Tier 2

New Additions to the Sediments of the Tigris River from Al-Dora Bridge to Al-Mada'in for the Period 2015-2024

This study examined sediment dynamics and microplastic additions in a stretch of Iraq's Tigris River, documenting new microplastic inputs from urban and agricultural discharge and characterizing the sediment composition changes resulting from ongoing urban development and climate pressures.

2025 ESTIDAMAA. 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Modeling microplastic dynamics in riverine systems: fate and transport analysis

Researchers developed a computer model to simulate how microplastics travel through river systems, accounting for how they enter from human activities and how they settle, resuspend, and deposit along riverbanks. The model was applied to the Tame River in the UK using four different scenarios based on plastic particle types like fibers, fragments, and pellets. The study provides a tool for predicting where microplastics accumulate in rivers, which could help target cleanup and monitoring efforts.

2025 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the Sensitivity of Microplastic Accumulation Zones in Rivers Using High-Performance Particle Transport Modelling

Researchers applied high-performance particle transport modelling to explore the sensitivity of microplastic accumulation zones in rivers, identifying key hydrodynamic factors that govern where microplastics concentrate. The modelling approach provides a tool for predicting hotspot areas of microplastic deposition in fluvial environments.

2025
Article Tier 2

Modelling the Fate of Microplastics in river bed sediments.

Researchers modeled the fate of microplastics deposited in river bed sediments, examining how hydrological conditions influence their distribution, burial, and potential for downstream transport. The models revealed that river bed sediments act as significant long-term reservoirs for microplastic pollution.

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

From headwaters to receiving waters: river dynamics in an increasingly urban world

This paper is not about microplastics; it synthesizes research on river dynamics from headwaters to receiving waters in urban environments, covering hydrological, ecological, and restoration topics.

2023
Article Tier 2

Dispersal and transport of microplastic particles under different flow conditions in riverine ecosystem

Researchers developed a particle-tracking model combined with hydrodynamic simulation to study how microplastics travel through river systems under different water flow conditions. They found that flow speed, turbulence, and river channel features significantly influence where microplastics accumulate and how far they travel. The study provides a useful tool for predicting microplastic transport patterns and identifying pollution hotspots in river ecosystems.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 80 citations
Article Tier 2

A numerical model of microplastic transport for fluvial systems

Researchers developed a reduced-complexity numerical model of microplastic erosion, transport, and deposition in fluvial systems, applying it to the river Têt in France and finding that a large proportion of microplastics become entrained in river sediments before reaching the ocean.

2024
Article Tier 2

Modeling Microplastic Dispersion in the Salado Estuary Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Researchers employed computational fluid dynamics modeling to simulate microplastic dispersion in the Salado Estuary, examining how industrial activities and plastic waste degradation drive transport dynamics of microplastics through the estuarine system.

2025 Fluids
Article Tier 2

A numerical model of microplastic erosion, transport, and deposition for fluvial systems

Researchers developed a numerical model of microplastic erosion, transport, and deposition in river systems, finding that rivers act as temporary sinks trapping significant fractions of MPs before they reach the ocean, with implications for estimating marine MP loading from terrestrial sources.

2025 Earth Surface Dynamics 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Modeling the transport of microplastics along river networks

Researchers built a mathematical model to predict how microplastics travel through river networks, combining water flow dynamics with estimates of human plastic inputs. They tested the model against real-world data from three river systems worldwide and found it reliably predicted microplastic concentrations. The tool could help identify pollution hotspots and guide cleanup priorities across entire river basins.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Modeling impacts of river hydrodynamics on fate and transport of microplastics in riverine environments

Researchers built a computer model to simulate how microplastics travel and transform in river systems, accounting for particle aggregation and breakage driven by water flow. They found that microplastics clump together significantly in the early stages after entering a river, which changes the size distribution of particles flowing downstream. The study suggests that river conditions play a major role in determining what size and form of microplastics eventually reach the ocean.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 26 citations
Article Tier 2

High Spatiotemporal Model-Based Tracking and Environmental Risk-Exposure of Wastewater-Derived Pharmaceuticals across River Networks in Saxony, Germany

This is an environmental engineering study modeling how pharmaceuticals from wastewater treatment plants travel through river networks in Saxony, Germany; it is not a microplastics research paper.

2023 Water 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Analytical Modeling of Microplastic Transport in Rivers: Incorporating Sinking, Removal, and Multi-Phase Dynamics

Scientists developed better computer models to track how tiny plastic particles move through rivers on their way to the ocean. The new models show that many microplastics actually sink and get trapped in river sediments rather than flowing straight to the sea, which means we've been underestimating plastic pollution on river bottoms where fish and other wildlife live. This matters because it helps us better understand where microplastics accumulate in the environment and could eventually enter our food chain through seafood and drinking water.

2026 Pollutants
Article Tier 2

The role of biofilm and hydrodynamics on the fate of microplastic particles in rivers: an experimental study

Researchers conducted experimental flume studies to investigate how biofilm formation and hydrodynamic conditions jointly govern microplastic particle fate in rivers, examining why some urbanized and industrialized river reaches show no significant upstream-to-downstream increase in microplastic concentration despite theoretical inputs.

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

Causes and side effects of changing water quality in Khassa-Chai river in Kirkuk, Iraq

This study assessed water quality changes in the Khassa-Chai River in Kirkuk, Iraq, across dry and wet seasons, finding that the river fails to meet safe drinking water standards largely due to urbanization and inadequate wastewater management. While focused on chemical and microbial water quality rather than microplastics, poor water management enables microplastic contamination in similar urban rivers.

2021 Scientific Review Engineering and Environmental Sciences (SREES) 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Modelling the Fate of Microplastics in river bed sediments.

Researchers modeled microplastic transport, deposition, and burial in river bed sediments under varying hydrological conditions. River bed sediments were found to act as long-term reservoirs for microplastics, with periodic high-flow events temporarily resuspending and redistributing particles.

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

Dynamics of microplastics in urban rivers under varying hydrological regimes

Monitoring of urban rivers showed that microplastic concentrations fluctuate significantly with varying hydrological conditions such as storm events and seasonal flow changes. Understanding these dynamics is essential for accurately characterizing the river microplastic load and its variability over time.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

A Lagrangian Model for Microplastics Transport in Rivers

Researchers developed a Lagrangian computational model to simulate how microplastics are transported through river systems, accounting for particle buoyancy, turbulence, and settling behavior. The model provides a tool for predicting microplastic fate and accumulation in freshwater environments.

2024 Jornadas de jóvenes investigadores del I3A
Article Tier 2

Partial and Temporal Variations in Concentration of Micro Plastic in Drinking Water of Al-Hilla River

This study measured microplastic concentrations in drinking water from the Al-Hilla River in Iraq, finding contamination across multiple sampling locations and time periods. The presence of microplastics in tap water raises concerns about daily human ingestion through drinking water.

2023 Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology 2 citations