Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Influence of 2015 flood on the distribution and occurrence of microplastic pellets along the Chennai coast, India

Researchers compared microplastic pellet abundance on the Chennai coast before and after a major 2015 flood and found a threefold increase in pellet density post-flood, attributing the surge to urban river runoff carrying fresh plastic debris — demonstrating that extreme rainfall events are significant episodic drivers of coastal microplastic pollution.

2016 Marine Pollution Bulletin 306 citations
Article Tier 2

Storm events as key moments of microplastic contamination in aquatic ecosystems

Researchers monitored microplastic concentrations in waterways before, during, and after storm events and found that storm-driven runoff caused major spikes in microplastic abundance, identifying storm events as key transport moments that standard monitoring programs typically miss.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 309 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of extreme weather events on microplastic distribution in coastal environments

Researchers conducted a year-long survey in Hong Kong to study how extreme weather events affect microplastic distribution in coastal environments. They found that typhoons and rainstorms dramatically increased microplastic levels, with abundance jumping 5 to 36 times higher after major storms. The study suggests that extreme weather is the primary driver of seasonal variation in coastal microplastic pollution, which has implications as these events become more frequent.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 69 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Variations in Land-Based Sources of Coastal Water Affected by Tropical Typhoon Events in Zhanjiang Bay, China

Researchers analyzed the abundance, composition, diversity, and flux of microplastics from three estuaries and one sewage outlet in Zhanjiang Bay, China, before and after tropical typhoon events, finding a 3.6-fold increase in microplastic abundance from land-based sources following typhoons. The study links increased stormwater discharge during typhoons to elevated microplastic loading in coastal waters, highlighting how climate-driven extreme weather amplifies plastic pollution.

2022 Water 16 citations
Article Tier 2

How microplastics quantities increase with flood events? An example from Mersin Bay NE Levantine coast of Turkey

Sampling before and after major flood events in Mersin Bay, Turkey showed that microplastic concentrations in coastal waters increased significantly following floods, likely due to transport of plastic waste from land. The results provide direct evidence that extreme rainfall events can rapidly escalate microplastic pollution in coastal marine environments.

2018 Environmental Pollution 202 citations
Article Tier 2

Typhoons increase the abundance of microplastics in the marine environment and cultured organisms: A case study in Sanggou Bay, China

Typhoon events in Sanggou Bay, China were found to sharply increase microplastic abundance in seawater and cultured organisms, suggesting that extreme weather is an underappreciated driver of episodic microplastic pollution in coastal zones.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 179 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2020 Scientific Reports 129 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic After an Extreme Storm: The Typhoon-Induced Response of Micro- and Mesoplastics in Coastal Waters

Surveys conducted before and after a typhoon in Sagami Bay, Japan found that the storm significantly altered concentrations and characteristics of micro- and mesoplastics in coastal waters approximately 30 km offshore, demonstrating that extreme storms are important drivers of plastic redistribution at sea.

2022 Frontiers in Marine Science 60 citations
Article Tier 2

The Effects of Rainfall Events on the Composition and Diversity of Microplastics on Beaches in Xiamen City on a Short-Term Scale

Short-term monitoring around rainfall events on Xiamen City beaches found that precipitation increased the number and diversity of microplastics in beach sediments, pointing to storm runoff as a major delivery mechanism.

2024 Toxics 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic occurrence in the northern South China Sea, A case for Pre and Post cyclone analysis

Researchers analyzed microplastic contamination in the northern South China Sea before and after a cyclone, finding that the storm event significantly altered microplastic distribution patterns in both coastal seawater and sediments.

2022 Chemosphere 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic dynamics along an extreme flood event in a peri-urban stream

Researchers monitored microplastic dynamics in a peri-urban stream at high temporal resolution during an extreme flood event, finding that MP concentrations and fluxes varied dramatically throughout the event in ways not captured by pre- and post-event sampling alone.

2025
Article Tier 2

The fate of marine microplastics in the swash zone

Researchers found that storms in the Baltic Sea swash zone dramatically increase both microplastic and mesoplastic concentrations in seawater — with average mesoplastic abundance 35.6 times higher during storms — while also driving fragmentation of larger plastic particles into smaller microplastics, as evidenced by a post-storm decrease in average fiber length.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin
Article Tier 2

Change in microplastic concentration during various temporal events downstream of a combined sewage overflow and in an urban stormwater creek

Researchers examined how microplastic concentrations in urban waterways changed during rain events, snowmelt, and combined sewage overflow episodes, finding that stormwater runoff and sewer overflows substantially increase microplastic loads, with event type and intensity influencing concentration patterns.

2022 Frontiers in Water 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Typhoon-induced turbulence redistributed microplastics in coastal areas and reformed plastisphere community

Researchers studied how Typhoon Wipha affected microplastic distribution and the microbial communities living on plastic surfaces in coastal waters near Shenzhen, China. They found that the typhoon significantly increased microplastic abundance in surface water while decreasing it in sediment, suggesting storm turbulence resuspends settled particles. The typhoon also reshaped the plastisphere microbial community, indicating that extreme weather events can redistribute both microplastics and their associated organisms.

2021 Water Research 99 citations
Article Tier 2

Inter-event and intra-event dynamics of microplastic emissions in an urban river during rainfall episodes

Researchers conducted high-frequency sampling of microplastics in a Japanese urban river during three different rainfall events to understand how storms mobilize plastic pollution. They found that rainfall events increased microplastic loads by 4 to 110 times compared to dry weather, with smaller particles mobilizing first during lighter rains and larger particles surging after peak rainfall intensity. The study reveals that storm dynamics play a critical role in determining when and how microplastics are flushed from urban areas into waterways.

2023 Environmental Research 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence of Microplastic Pollution at Oyster Reefs and Other Coastal Sites in the Mississippi Sound, USA: Impacts of Freshwater Inflows from Flooding

Researchers assessed microplastic pollution in water at oyster reef sites along the Mississippi Gulf Coast during a period of historic flooding that caused prolonged freshwater intrusion. The study found that flooding events increased microplastic concentrations in coastal waters, suggesting that extreme weather and freshwater inflows from rivers can intensify microplastic pollution in estuarine environments where filter-feeding shellfish are especially vulnerable.

2020 Toxics 143 citations
Article Tier 2

Chasing plastic storms: Assessing atmospheric microplastic deposition by a ‘pulse event’ of tropical storm Fiona in Eastern Canada

Researchers geospatially analysed atmospheric microplastic deposition during tropical storm Fiona, one of the most destructive storms on record for Eastern Canada, using a unique time series to track how the extreme weather event mobilised and redistributed anthropogenic microdebris across terrestrial, aquatic, and marine environments. The study found that extreme meteorological events represent a significant and undercharacterised pathway for concentrated atmospheric microplastic deposition over large areas.

2024
Article Tier 2

Underestimated land-to-sea microplastic emissions: The crucial role of rainfall events

Researchers investigated microplastic emission characteristics during a rainfall event in Masan Bay, Korea, using time-weighted sampling in the Samhochoen stream to capture temporal variation in microplastic loads. They found that microplastic abundance peaked during early runoff stages and was strongly influenced by rainfall intensity, with polypropylene and polyethylene accounting for roughly 60% of detected polymers.

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

Impact of flooding events on microplastic distribution from rivers to coastal areas: a case study from Tuticorin, Southeast India

Researchers compared microplastic abundance in river, estuarine, and coastal water and sediment before and after a 2023 flood event in Southeast India. Flood events tripled microplastic abundance in surface water (from 28 to 95 items/L) and increased sediment concentrations 1.5-fold, demonstrating that flooding is a major driver of microplastic redistribution.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018 on the deposition of marine debris and microplastics on beaches in Hong Kong

Researchers assessed how Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018 affected the deposition of marine debris and microplastics on Hong Kong beaches, finding that the typhoon significantly redistributed both macro-debris and microplastics, with exposed beaches accumulating more material than protected ones. The study demonstrates that extreme weather events are important drivers of microplastic deposition dynamics in coastal environments.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 112 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic accumulation dynamics in two Mediterranean beaches with contrasting inputs

Researchers monitored microplastic accumulation dynamics on two Mediterranean beaches with contrasting human pressures over multiple seasons, finding that beaches near urban areas accumulated MPs faster and showed greater concentration variability. Short-term accumulation events tied to storms and wind patterns were identified as key drivers of MP deposition.

2022 Journal of Sea Research 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Floating microplastics in a coastal embayment: A multifaceted issue

Researchers assessed floating microplastic densities in a coastal embayment in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean, collecting 1,182 floating microplastic samples and analyzing the influence of wind on their distribution. The study highlighted that surface floating plastics represent only a small fraction of total environmental plastics, underscoring the complexity of tracking plastic fate in coastal systems.

2020 Marine Pollution Bulletin 68 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatiotemporal variation in microplastic contamination along a subtropical reservoir shoreline

Researchers tracked microplastic contamination along the shoreline of a subtropical reservoir over two years and found that microplastic abundance was higher near urban areas and varied with season, with storm-related inputs creating significant temporal spikes.

2020 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 67 citations
Article Tier 2

Tidal intensity and suspended sediment concentration drive microplastic distribution in the Pearl River Estuary: Insights from remote sensing retrieval

Field measurements showed that tidal intensity and suspended sediment concentrations are key drivers of microplastic transport in coastal and estuarine waters. The results help explain why microplastic concentrations fluctuate with tidal cycles and inform models predicting where plastics accumulate in dynamic coastal zones.

2025 Environmental Pollution 1 citations