Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Microplastics in freshwater systems: Dynamic behaviour and transport processes

This review examines how microplastics move through freshwater systems like rivers and lakes on their way to the ocean. The behavior of these particles, including whether they sink, float, or clump together, depends on their size, shape, and density, which constantly change as the plastics weather and interact with organisms. Understanding these transport processes is critical because freshwater systems are a major pathway for microplastic pollution that eventually affects drinking water and aquatic food sources.

2024 Resources Conservation and Recycling 165 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Microplastic contamination, an emerging threat to the freshwater environment: a systematic review

Researchers systematically reviewed the spread of microplastics in freshwater ecosystems — rivers, lakes, and streams — documenting their sources, how they move through water, the damage they cause to aquatic organisms, and the methods used to detect them. Their review serves as a baseline reference for future research and calls for improved waste management to protect freshwater environments from ongoing microplastic contamination.

2024 ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH 98 citations
Article Tier 2

The Complex Dynamics of Microplastic Migration through Different Aquatic Environments: Subsidies for a Better Understanding of Its Environmental Dispersion

This review explores how microplastics move through different aquatic environments, from rivers and lakes to estuaries and oceans, focusing on the physical properties that drive their transport. Researchers found that factors like particle density, size, shape, and biofouling all influence where microplastics accumulate and how far they travel. Understanding these migration dynamics is essential for predicting contamination patterns and designing effective cleanup strategies.

2023 Microplastics 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Are Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Freshwater Environments: An Overview

This overview examines the emerging problem of microplastic contamination in freshwater environments, covering sources, occurrence, and potential effects on aquatic ecosystems. The authors discuss how microplastics enter lakes and rivers through wastewater treatment plants, runoff, and degradation of larger plastic debris. The review highlights that freshwater microplastic pollution deserves the same research attention as marine contamination, given that rivers serve as major transport pathways for plastics reaching the ocean.

2017 ˜The œhandbook of environmental chemistry 384 citations
Review Tier 2

A Review of the Migration and Transformation of Microplastics in Inland Water Systems

This review examined how microplastics migrate and transform in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, tracing their journey from manufacturing through disposal to aquatic environments. The study suggests that microplastics undergo multiple fate stages in inland waters, including suspension, deposition, resuspension, burial, and ingestion by organisms, eventually reaching the marine environment.

2021 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 69 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Critical Review of Sources, Transport Mechanisms and Ecotoxicological Risks

This review provides a broad overview of microplastic pollution in rivers, oceans, and other aquatic environments, covering where these particles come from, how they move through water systems, and the harm they can cause. Evidence indicates that microplastics accumulate toxins and disrupt growth, feeding, and reproduction in aquatic species, with potential consequences for human health through seafood and drinking water. The authors stress the need for better global monitoring, stronger waste management systems, and development of eco-friendly plastic alternatives.

2025 Asian Journal of Environment & Ecology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Comprehensive review of the co-transport of microplastics and suspended sediments in aquatic environments: macroscopic transport and microscopic mechanisms

Researchers reviewed how microplastics and suspended sediments interact and travel together through rivers, lakes, and coastal waters, identifying water flow conditions, particle density, and plastic shape as key factors governing their joint migration and deposition. Understanding these co-transport dynamics is essential for predicting where microplastics accumulate and assessing their ecological risks.

2025 Environmental Sciences Europe
Article Tier 2

Plastic and Microplastic in the Environment

This review summarizes the sources, pathways, analytical methods, and distribution of microplastics in freshwater environments, emphasizing that rivers and lakes are major conduits transferring plastic pollution from terrestrial sources to the oceans.

2022 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Riverine microplastics and their interaction with freshwater fish

This paper reviews how microplastics enter river systems, how they move through waterways, and the risks they pose to freshwater fish. Researchers found that fish ingest microplastics that can accumulate in organs and carry toxic chemicals absorbed from the water. The review highlights that river fish, an important food source for many communities, face growing exposure to microplastics from urban runoff, wastewater, and agricultural sources.

2023 Water Biology and Security 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro-plastics in Aquatic Environment: Source, Fate, Emerging Threats, and Regulatory Effort

This review covers sources, distribution, and threats of microplastics in aquatic environments, tracing their movement through rivers, estuaries, lakes, and oceans and their accumulation in sediments and the food chain. The paper also reviews emerging policy frameworks aimed at reducing plastic pollution, providing a broad overview of the microplastic problem in water systems.

2023 International Journal of Environment and Climate Change 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Sources, Occurrence, and Analysis of Microplastics in Freshwater Environments

This review summarizes current knowledge on microplastic sources and occurrence in freshwater environments, noting that freshwater systems are major conduits delivering microplastics to the ocean. The review highlights that freshwater microplastic research lags far behind marine studies despite rivers and lakes being primary pollution pathways.

2022 6 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2025
Article Tier 2

Freshwater Microplastics

This book chapter or review provided a comprehensive overview of freshwater microplastics — covering sources, occurrence, transport pathways, and ecological impacts in rivers and lakes globally.

2017 ˜The œhandbook of environmental chemistry 661 citations
Article Tier 2

From Origins to Impacts: A Comprehensive Review of Microplastics in Freshwater Environments

This comprehensive review covers microplastics in freshwater ecosystems from sources and transport to biological uptake and food web effects, synthesizing current evidence on ecological risks and identifying research priorities.

2024 International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Freshwater Ecosystems: Sources, Transport and Ecotoxicological Impacts on Aquatic Life and Human Health

This review summarizes how microplastics enter freshwater ecosystems from sources like industrial runoff, urban waste, and agriculture, and how they accumulate in sediments where aquatic organisms ingest them. Researchers found that microplastics reduce feeding efficiency, inhibit growth, and harm reproduction in freshwater species, while also acting as carriers for toxic chemicals that build up through the food chain. The study highlights the need for better waste management and further research to understand the full scope of risks to both aquatic life and human health.

2025 Environment and Ecology 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in aquatic environments with special emphasis on riverine systems: Current understanding and way forward

This review examines microplastic pollution in freshwater riverine systems, which serve as a critical link between terrestrial and marine environments. Researchers found that rivers are significantly contaminated with microplastics of varying sizes and morphologies, and that these particles can exhibit variable toxicity to aquatic organisms, highlighting the need for more research on freshwater microplastic impacts.

2021 Journal of Environmental Management 83 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Freshwater Systems

This overview examines how microplastics accumulate in freshwater bodies, where they pose risks to aquatic life by delivering chemical pollutants and causing physical harm through ingestion. As microplastic pollution in rivers and lakes worsens globally, there is an urgent need for better management of plastic waste.

2020 2 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Aquatic Ecology 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Aquatic Environments: Aggregation, Deposition, and Enhanced Contaminant Transport

This review examined the aggregation, deposition, and transport of microplastics and nanoplastics in aquatic environments, synthesizing how particle properties and water chemistry govern their fate and mobility in rivers, lakes, and oceans.

2017 Environmental Science & Technology 2491 citations
Article Tier 2

Migration and Transformation of Microplastics

This review traces the full journey of microplastics through the environment, from their origins to how they move through water, soil, and air. Researchers examined how properties like particle size, shape, density, and surface chemistry influence where microplastics end up and how far they travel. The study highlights that during transport, microplastics can release toxic additives and carry other pollutants, posing risks to both ecosystems and human health.

2025 4 citations
Article Tier 2

A Review of Processes and Models for the Export of Microplastics From Terrestrial to Aquatic Systems

This review examines models and processes that control how microplastics move from land into rivers, lakes, and oceans. Understanding these transport pathways is essential for predicting where microplastics accumulate and developing strategies to stop them from reaching water sources. The research could help protect human health by informing better land management and waste reduction policies.

2025 Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Water 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Natural Factors of Microplastics Distribution and Migration in Water: A Review

This review examines how natural factors like rainfall, wind, sunlight, aquatic organisms, and water geography affect where microplastics end up in lakes, rivers, and oceans. Understanding these movement patterns is important for predicting which water sources are most contaminated and where human exposure through drinking water or seafood is likely highest.

2024 Water 42 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in freshwater ecosystems: what we know and what we need to know

This review examines the state of knowledge on microplastic contamination in freshwater ecosystems, which have received far less scientific attention than marine environments despite being major pathways for plastic transport. Researchers found that freshwater microplastic concentrations can be extremely high near urban areas and that organisms from insects to fish readily ingest these particles. The study identifies key research gaps including the need for standardized detection methods and better understanding of how microplastics move through and affect freshwater food webs.

2014 Environmental Sciences Europe 1468 citations
Review Tier 2

Microplastics as contaminants in freshwater environments: A multidisciplinary review

This multidisciplinary review covers microplastic sources, abundance, composition, transport, and biological effects in freshwater systems globally, arguing that freshwater environments are both major conduits and sinks for microplastic pollution.

2020 Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology 85 citations