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Papers
20 resultsShowing papers similar to Insights into the in-situ degradation and fragmentation of macroplastics in a low-order riverine system
ClearFirst attempt to measure macroplastic fragmentation in rivers
Researchers developed the first method to directly measure how large plastic debris fragments into microplastics while traveling through rivers. They found that river transport causes significant breakdown of plastic waste into smaller pieces, confirming that rivers are major producers of secondary microplastics. This is important for understanding where microplastics come from, since rivers eventually carry these particles to oceans and drinking water sources.
Macroplastic fragmentation in rivers
This review examines how large plastic debris in rivers gradually breaks apart into micro- and nanoplastics through physical abrasion, UV degradation, and biological activity, with river systems acting as long-term reservoirs and transfer pathways for plastic pollution. The authors propose a conceptual framework identifying which properties of the plastic item and which river characteristics control how quickly fragmentation occurs, finding that retention times can range from years to centuries. Understanding these fragmentation rates is essential for predicting how much secondary microplastic pollution ultimately reaches the ocean and enters food chains.
Macroplastic fragmentation in rivers
This paper presents a framework for understanding how larger plastic waste in rivers breaks down into microplastics and nanoplastics over time. The researchers identified key factors that control fragmentation, including the type of plastic, its shape, and river conditions like sunlight exposure and water flow. Understanding this process is important because rivers are a major pathway for microplastics to spread through the environment and eventually reach drinking water sources.
Conceptual framework for exploring riverine macroplastic fragmentation
This paper presents a conceptual framework for studying how macroplastic debris fragments into smaller particles in rivers, identifying key physical and chemical processes and calling for field-based fragmentation rate data to improve plastic pollution models.
Influence of sediment size on microplastic fragmentation
Researchers examined how sediment grain size influences the physical fragmentation of microplastics in river environments, where the mechanical controls on microplastic storage, remobilization, and transfer pathways remain poorly understood. The study found that sediment size plays a meaningful role in breaking down plastic particles, contributing to the generation of smaller microplastic fragments in fluvial systems.
Experimental method for quantifying macroplastic fragmentation in rivers
Researchers proposed and tested an experimental methodology for quantifying macroplastic fragmentation during river transport by conducting repeated mass measurements of tagged plastic items before and after riverine transport over 52-65 days. They found measurable mass loss from fragmentation, providing the first direct field quantification of riverine macroplastic fragmentation rates and supporting the hypothesis that river channels are hotspots for plastic breakdown.
The unknown fate of macroplastic in mountain rivers
Researchers proposed that mountain rivers may function as "microplastic factories" because their fast currents, shallow depths, and rocky beds physically break down larger plastic debris into smaller microplastic particles more rapidly than slow-moving lowland rivers. This conceptual model, supported by testable hypotheses, suggests mountain rivers in populated tourist areas are an underappreciated source of microplastic pollution flowing downstream to broader ecosystems.
Controls on microplastic breakdown due to abrasion in gravel bed rivers
Researchers investigated the physical controls on microplastic fragmentation due to mechanical abrasion in gravel-bed rivers, examining how particle size, morphology, polymer type, and weathering state influence breakdown rates and the resulting changes in surface properties that alter risk profiles during fluvial transport.
Transport processes of microplastic particles in the fluvial environment : erosion, transport and deposition
This thesis examines how microplastics are eroded, transported, and deposited in river systems, tracing their movement from land sources to the ocean. The research fills an important gap in understanding how rivers act as conduits for microplastic pollution and what processes determine where plastic particles accumulate in freshwater environments.
Microplastics in the sediments of small-scale Japanese rivers: Abundance and distribution, characterization, sources-to-sink, and ecological risks
Researchers characterized microplastic pollution in sediments of four small-scale Japanese rivers, finding widespread contamination and identifying polymer types and potential sources, highlighting that even small river systems serve as microplastic transport pathways.
Microplastic pollution in streams spanning an urbanisation gradient
Researchers sampled microplastics in small streams across an urbanization gradient and found contamination at all sites, with concentrations comparable to those in larger rivers and lakes. Fragments and small particles between 63 and 500 micrometers were the most common forms detected. Surprisingly, catchment-scale factors like population density and stormwater overflows did not predict microplastic levels well, suggesting that local-scale sources may be more important for pollution in small streams.
Microplastic Pathways: Investigating Vertical and Horizontal Movement from Riverine Environments to Oceans
Researchers investigated the vertical and horizontal movement of microplastics in riverine systems en route to the ocean, examining how physical MP characteristics and hydrodynamic conditions govern whether particles settle near riverbeds or float at the surface, and how both gravity-driven and flow-driven transport contribute to their ultimate fate.
Microplastics in river water: occurrence, weathering, and adsorption behaviour
Researchers examined microplastics in river water, characterizing their occurrence, degree of weathering, and capacity to adsorb co-contaminants. The study highlights microplastics as vectors that can transport and re-release other pollutants in freshwater systems.
A critical review of environmental factors influencing the transport dynamics of microplastics in riverine systems: implications for ecological studies
This review examines how environmental factors like river flow, channel shape, vegetation, and sediment influence where microplastics accumulate and how they travel through river systems. The authors found that microplastic transport is far more complex than previously assumed, with particles behaving differently based on their size, shape, and density. Understanding these dynamics is essential for predicting where microplastics end up and designing effective cleanup strategies.
Study of the influence of fluvial dynamics on the distribution and transport of microplastics.
Researchers studied how fluvial dynamics, including water flow, turbulence, and river morphology, influence microplastic distribution and transport in a river system. The study found that hydrological conditions strongly control where microplastics deposit and how they move through the watershed.
Assessing small-scale freshwater microplastics pollution, land-use, source-to-sink conduits, and pollution risks: Perspectives from Japanese rivers polluted with microplastics
Researchers assessed microplastic pollution in four small-scale Japanese rivers flowing into the Sea of Japan and Seto Inland Sea. The study found that these small rivers were more heavily polluted than many larger rivers worldwide, with polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyester fibers dominating, suggesting that small-scale rivers are significant but often overlooked conduits transporting land-based microplastics to marine environments.
Macroplastic pollution hotspots across global mountain river catchments
Researchers mapped macroplastic pollution hotspots across global mountain river catchments, identifying densely populated mountain areas as significant sources of plastic that enters high-energy river channels where rapid fragmentation into microplastics can occur. The study emphasised that mountain rivers represent underappreciated pathways for microplastic generation and downstream transport to lowland rivers and ultimately the ocean.
Quantification and Categorization of Macroplastics (Plastic Debris) within a Headwaters Basin in Western North Carolina, USA: Implications to the Potential Impacts of Plastic Pollution on Biota
Researchers quantified and categorized plastic debris along Richland Creek, a heavily forested watershed in western North Carolina. They collected over 1,700 pieces of plastic, predominantly films and hard plastics, with foam and film items showing the highest fragmentation rates. A laboratory component confirmed that collected items readily break down into microplastics, demonstrating how macroplastic litter in even rural waterways serves as a continuous source of microplastic pollution.
Sinks and sources: Assessing microplastic abundance in river sediment and deposit feeders in an Austral temperate urban river system
Researchers investigated microplastic abundance in river sediments and depositional zones, finding that sediment acts as both a sink and a temporary source, with stored microplastics re-mobilized during high-flow events.
Mid-Level Riverine Outflow Matters: A Case of Microplastic Transport in the Jiulong River, China
Researchers found that the mid-sized Jiulong River in China exports substantial quantities of microplastics to coastal environments via riverine outflow, with sampling by both trawling and pumping methods revealing that smaller rivers are meaningful contributors to marine plastic loads.