Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Microplastic accumulation, depuration dynamics and localization in environmental compartments: combination of experimental set ups and field studies

Researchers used microcosm experiments to track microplastic accumulation, depuration, and tissue localization in marine organisms under environmentally relevant conditions. The study found that organisms can accumulate and partially depurate microplastics, with particle retention varying by tissue type and particle size.

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

Understanding the influence of biota in the transfer of different sized microplastics between environmental compartments of marine ecosystem

This study investigated how marine micro- and macro-biota influence the transport of microplastics between environmental compartments such as water, sediment, and organisms, finding that biological interactions substantially alter the distribution of particles beyond what hydrodynamics alone would predict.

2025 Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology
Article Tier 2

The fate of microplastic in marine sedimentary environments: A review and synthesis

A systematic review of 80 papers on microplastics in marine sediments found median concentrations varied widely by sediment environment, with fibers dominating many locations, and showed that sediment grain size and organic carbon content influence microplastic accumulation.

2020 Marine Pollution Bulletin 381 citations
Article Tier 2

Beyond the exposure phase: Microplastic depuration and experimental implications

This review systematically analyzed studies of microplastic depuration in aquatic organisms, focusing on how long plastic particles are retained after exposure ends. The authors found that depuration kinetics vary by species, particle size, and polymer type, and that current studies inadequately characterize post-exposure clearance.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics spatiotemporal distribution and variability in marine habitats along the North-Western Mediterranean coastal waters.

Researchers assessed microplastic spatiotemporal distribution across multiple Mediterranean marine habitat types including water surface, sediment, and biota, revealing significant variability by location and season. The multi-compartment approach showed that no single habitat type captures the full extent of microplastic contamination.

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

Recent advances on the transport of microplastics/nanoplastics in abiotic and biotic compartments

This review synthesizes recent findings on how microplastics and nanoplastics are transported through environmental compartments including water, soil, atmosphere, and biological systems, highlighting key factors that govern their fate and distribution.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 136 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental emission, fate and transformation of microplastics in biotic and abiotic compartments: Global status, recent advances and future perspectives

This global review synthesizes knowledge on the emission, environmental fate, and transformation of microplastics across biotic and abiotic compartments, identifying key research gaps and future priorities for understanding the full plastic pollution lifecycle.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 73 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the complex interactions between microplastics and marine contaminants

A comprehensive review explored the complex interactions between microplastics and various environmental matrices (water, soil, sediment, biota), synthesizing knowledge on how plastics move between compartments and affect ecosystems. The review identifies critical knowledge gaps and priority areas for future microplastic research.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Where Is All the Plastic? How Microplastic Partitions across Environmental Compartments within a Large Pelagic In-Lake Mesocosm

Researchers tracked how microplastic fragments of varying buoyancy partition among water column, sediment, and surface film compartments in an experimental aquatic system, finding that particle density and biofouling strongly determine where MPs ultimately accumulate in the environment.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Distribution and importance of microplastics in the marine environment: A review of the sources, fate, effects, and potential solutions

This review synthesized research on the distribution and significance of microplastics across the marine environment, covering sources, transport pathways, ecological interactions, and the state of knowledge on biological and chemical effects.

2017 Environment International 2517 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing the Impact of Microplastic Pollution on Coastal Ecosystems: a Multidimensional Environmental Approach

This review presents a comprehensive multidimensional analysis of microplastic pollution in coastal ecosystems, covering sources, distribution pathways, ecological effects on marine organisms, and implications for environmental management. The authors draw on recent interdisciplinary research to assess how microplastics infiltrate nearly every ecological compartment from coastal waters to ocean sediments and interact with biological and chemical systems.

2025 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

The fate of plastic litter within estuarine compartments: An overview of current knowledge for the transboundary issue to guide future assessments

Researchers reviewed global knowledge on plastic fate within estuaries and found plastic concentrations reaching thousands of items per cubic meter in water and sediment, while identifying major methodological gaps — particularly that microfibers are consistently undersampled and that studies rarely account for ecological trophic gradients or the physicochemical dynamics driving plastic distribution and bioavailability.

2021 Environmental Pollution 79 citations
Article Tier 2

Dispersion, accumulation and the ultimate fate of microplastics in deep-marine environments: A review and future directions

This review synthesized existing knowledge on microplastic distribution in deep-marine environments, integrating process-based sedimentological transport models with field data to outline how microplastics disperse, accumulate, and become buried in seafloor sediments, and identifying key gaps for future research.

2019 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Modelling the sedimentation of macro-, micro- and nanoplastics in the ocean from surface to sediment

Researchers modeled the sedimentation of macro-, micro-, and nanoplastics from the ocean surface to the seafloor, finding that biofouling and particle aggregation dramatically accelerate sinking rates and that most plastics eventually reach benthic environments.

2024
Article Tier 2

Distinct microplastic patterns in the sediment and biota of an urban stream

Researchers found distinct microplastic contamination patterns between sediments and aquatic biota in an urban stream, with sediments accumulating more particles while biota showed selective uptake based on particle size and shape, highlighting the complex dynamics of microplastic distribution in urban freshwater systems.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Sediment matters as a route of microplastic exposure: A call for more research on the benthic compartment

Researchers conducted a systematic review highlighting that most microplastic studies focus on pelagic species in water-only exposures, despite evidence that sediment acts as a major sink for marine microplastics. The study calls for more research on sediment as an important exposure pathway for benthic invertebrates, recommending ecologically relevant concentrations and durations in future experiments.

2023 Frontiers in Marine Science 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Holistic Assessment of Microplastics and Other Anthropogenic Microdebris in an Urban Bay Sheds Light on Their Sources and Fate

This comprehensive urban bay monitoring study characterized microplastics and other anthropogenic microdebris across water, sediment, and biota, using physical and chemical properties to identify multiple pollution sources and predict environmental fate.

2021 ACS ES&T Water 67 citations
Review Tier 2

Microplastics as contaminants in the marine environment: A review

This review synthesized the state of knowledge on microplastics as marine contaminants, covering their sources, pathways, distribution, biological uptake, and potential ecological and toxicological effects.

2011 Marine Pollution Bulletin 5709 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of Microplastic Pollution in Marine Environments Sources, Distribution, and Impact

This review synthesizes evidence on microplastic contamination across all marine compartments — surface waters, sediments, and biota — analyzing major sources, distribution patterns, and ecological and human health impacts. The authors emphasize the pervasive and often irreversible nature of marine microplastic pollution.

2025 International Journal of Environmental Sciences
Article Tier 2

WhereIs All thePlastic? How Microplastic Partitionsacross Environmental Compartments within a Large Pelagic In-Lake Mesocosm

Researchers added microplastic fragments of varying buoyancy — polyethylene, polystyrene, and polyethylene terephthalate — to a large pelagic in-lake mesocosm to track how microplastics partition across water, sediment, and biological compartments in aquatic ecosystems.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Pollution in the Environment

This book chapter provides an overview of microplastic accumulation in marine and aquatic habitats, describing how plastic particles fragment, distribute across environmental compartments, and serve as vectors for chemical pollutants and pathogens.

2025
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in sediments: A review of techniques, occurrence and effects

This review examined techniques, occurrence data, and ecological effects of microplastics in sediments, synthesizing evidence that sediments act as a major long-term repository for microplastic contamination in both freshwater and marine systems.

2015 Marine Environmental Research 1190 citations
Article Tier 2

Marine microplastic debris: a targeted plan for understanding and quantifying interactions with marine life

This review examines the mechanisms by which marine organisms interact with microplastic debris and proposes a targeted research plan for understanding and quantifying these interactions and their role in redistributing plastic throughout ocean environments. The authors synthesize laboratory and field evidence showing that biotic processes - including ingestion, egestion, and biofouling - may significantly alter the spatial distribution and long-term fate of microplastics in marine systems.

2025 Figshare