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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Influence of sediment size on microplastic fragmentation
ClearControls 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.
Physical degradation and element adhesion: The critical influence of sediment grain size on plastics
Lab experiments simulating river flood conditions showed that larger sediment grain sizes dramatically accelerate the physical fragmentation of plastics and roughen their surfaces, causing more trace elements and silicon to stick to the particles. This is significant because rougher, smaller microplastics have greater surface area to absorb toxic chemicals, potentially making them more hazardous to organisms that ingest them. The findings help explain why microplastics in high-energy river environments may be especially effective carriers of co-pollutants like heavy metals.
First 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.
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.
Storm Response of Fluvial Sedimentary Microplastics
Researchers investigated how storm events affect microplastic concentrations in river sediments, finding that flood conditions remobilize stored particles and significantly increase microplastic loads in fluvial systems. The study identified key physical controls on microplastic storage and transport in river channels.
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.
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.
Insights into the in-situ degradation and fragmentation of macroplastics in a low-order riverine system
Researchers studied the in-situ degradation and fragmentation of larger plastic debris into microplastics within a low-order stream system. The study found that these small, often overlooked waterways are active sites where plastic materials break down, serving as important conduits for microplastic generation and transport to downstream coastal environments.
Microplastic and natural sediment in bed load saltation: Material does not dictate the fate
Researchers investigated how microplastics move as bed load in river flows and found that transport behavior in saltation was governed primarily by particle size, shape, and density rather than material composition, suggesting that microplastics follow similar transport mechanics as natural sediment.
Microplastic distribution and their abundance along rivers are determined by land uses and sediment granulometry
Researchers studied two river watersheds and found that microplastics were widespread in both water and sediment, with concentrations in water rising alongside increased urban land use. Interestingly, microplastics trapped in sediment were more influenced by the grain size of the riverbed than by human activity. The findings suggest that both human factors and natural river characteristics work together to shape where microplastics end up in freshwater systems.
Effects of microplastics on sedimentary geochemical properties and microbial ecosystems combined with hydraulic disturbance
Researchers investigated how microplastics interact with river sediments under flowing water conditions versus still water. They found that water movement significantly amplified the effects of microplastics on sediment structure, organic matter, and enzyme activity compared to static conditions. The study reveals that the environmental impact of microplastics in rivers is more complex and potentially greater than laboratory experiments under calm conditions would suggest.
Exploring the influence of sediment motion on microplastic deposition in streambeds
This study systematically explored how sediment motion affects microplastic deposition in streambeds made of fine sediments, finding that sediment transport dynamics play a critical role in controlling where microplastics accumulate. The results improve understanding of microplastic fate in riverine systems.
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.
Making waves: Unraveling microplastic deposition in rivers through the lens of sedimentary processes
Researchers examined how sedimentary processes in rivers control where microplastics are deposited and how long they remain buried. They reviewed existing work on water-sediment exchange of microplastic particles and identified key gaps in understanding deposition dynamics. The study highlights that rivers serve as major pathways for transporting microplastics from land to oceans, and that sediment processes play a critical role in determining their fate.
Source- and polymer-specific size distributions of fine microplastics in surface water in an urban river
Researchers investigated size distributions of fine microplastics from different sources in an urban river, finding that weathering and fragmentation produce a range of particle sizes and that source-specific size signatures can help trace microplastic origins.
Assessment of Sediment Grain Size and Its Correlation with Microplastic Accumulation and Characteristics in the Kahayan River, Indonesia
Researchers investigated microplastic accumulation in sediments of the Kahayan River in Indonesia in relation to sediment grain size, finding an average abundance of 7.3 items/kg dry weight. Significant correlations were found between coarse and fine sand grain sizes and microplastic occurrence, suggesting grain size plays a key role in microplastic retention.
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.
The effects of streambed movement and particle size on microplastic deposition
Researchers conducted flume experiments using polypropylene fibers and polystyrene microspheres in sandy streambeds to examine how streambed motion and particle size influence microplastic deposition, finding that both factors significantly affect burial rates in riverine systems.
Investigations on microplastic infiltration within natural riverbed sediments
Researchers used laboratory flume experiments to investigate how sediment grain size affects the infiltration of four types of microplastics (PET spheres, PET ellipsoids, polystyrene fragments, and polyamide fibers) into riverbed sediments. Sediment particle size, microplastic shape, and density were key factors controlling how deeply microplastics penetrate into the hyporheic zone.
Tracing microplastics in aquatic environments based on sediment analogies
Researchers found significant correlations between microplastic abundance and sediment grain size in an estuarine river system in Germany, suggesting that sediment grain size can serve as a proxy for predicting microplastic distribution in aquatic sediments. Using grain-size normalization could help standardize microplastic data across sites with different hydrodynamic conditions.
Assessing the Behavior of Microplastics in Fluvial Systems: Infiltration and Retention Dynamics in Streambed Sediments
Scientists used laboratory river-bed simulations to study how microplastics move from surface water down into streambed sediments. Smaller particles (1 micrometer) penetrated deeper into the sediment than larger ones, and higher water flow pushed more particles downward. This research helps explain how microplastics accumulate in river beds, which serve as both drinking water sources and habitats for aquatic organisms.
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.
Microplastic infiltration into mobile sediments
Researchers used an annular flume to simulate how microplastic particles infiltrate into sandy river sediments as bedforms migrate. They found that particle size was the most important factor determining how deep microplastics penetrated into the sediment, while bedform speed and particle density had less influence. The study reveals that smaller microplastics can be buried deeper in river sediments, making them harder to detect and potentially creating long-term contamination reservoirs.
Coupling fragmentation to a size-selective sedimentation model can quantify the long-term fate of buoyant plastics in the ocean
A size-selective sedimentation model was coupled with fragmentation dynamics to simulate how large plastic items break down and settle in aquatic environments over time. The coupled model advances predictions of microplastic size distributions and spatial accumulation patterns in rivers and oceans.