Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

The sink is leaking! – Enabling citizen science for global mapping of microplastic leakage from coastal soils

Researchers developed a citizen science framework for globally mapping microplastic leakage from coastal soils to marine environments, proposing standardized protocols that enable the public to document how microplastics transition from the terrestrial soil sink to ocean pathways via wind, wave, and current transport.

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

The potential contribution of citizen science data in the study of coastal microplastic and mesoplastic distributions

Researchers analyzed citizen science data from the Big Microplastic Survey to assess the potential contribution of volunteer-collected observations to understanding coastal microplastic and mesoplastic distribution patterns, evaluating data quality and spatial coverage relative to conventional scientific monitoring.

2025 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
Article Tier 2

Increasing our understanding of coastal microplastics and mesoplastics: a comparison of sampling methodologies using volunteer researchers

Researchers compared three different methods for sampling coastal microplastic and mesoplastic pollution using trained volunteers at three locations in southern England. They found that one citizen science method, the Big Microplastic Survey, consistently detected more plastic pollution and fewer zero counts than the other approaches. The study underscores the challenge of standardizing sampling methods and the importance of enabling meaningful comparisons across global monitoring efforts.

2025 Journal of Coastal Conservation 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Citizen Science for Assessment of Microplastics on Beaches: A Case Study in Mexico

Researchers used a citizen science approach involving 26 volunteers to assess microplastic abundance and type on Mexican beaches, providing broad geographic coverage at lower cost than traditional monitoring. Participants used standardized materials and training to collect and identify microplastics, generating a representative database that also raised public awareness of coastal plastic pollution.

2025 Microplastics
Article Tier 2

The sampling and analysis of coastal microplastic and mesoplastic: Development of a citizen science approach

This study designed, developed, and tested a citizen science approach to microplastic and mesoplastic data collection on coastal beaches to address scale and coverage limitations of traditional research methods. Results showed non-expert participants could collect comparable data to researchers, expanding monitoring capacity across undersampled coastlines.

2024 Journal of Coastal Conservation 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Using citizen science to understand floating plastic debris distribution and abundance: A case study from the North Cornish coast (United Kingdom).

This citizen science study used a standardized methodology to monitor floating plastic debris off the Cornish coast of the UK, finding microplastic concentrations comparable to or higher than other European coastal regions. The study demonstrates that citizen science can generate useful, standardized data on plastic pollution in coastal waters.

2023 Marine pollution bulletin
Article Tier 2

Determining global distribution of microplastics by combining citizen science and in-depth case studies

This study combined citizen science sampling data with in-depth field studies to build a better global picture of microplastic distribution. The approach shows how large-scale volunteer monitoring can extend spatial coverage far beyond what professional researchers can achieve alone.

2017 Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management 45 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic detectives: a citizen-science project reveals large variation in meso- and microplastic pollution along German coastlines

A citizen science project recruited volunteers to sample meso- and microplastics along German Baltic and North Sea coastlines, achieving spatial coverage far beyond what scientific teams alone could accomplish. Large variation in plastic pollution was found across sites, with some areas showing unexpectedly high concentrations linked to local sources and ocean circulation patterns.

2024 Frontiers in Environmental Science 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Approaches to understanding and monitoring sources, distribution, and fate of plastic waste generated on the Peruvian coast

Researchers established monitoring approaches for plastic waste sources, distribution, and fate along the Peruvian coast through the REMARCO Regional Citizen Science Programme, quantifying inputs from Lima and Callao, mapping pollution pathways from sources to marine environments, and building national capacity for microplastic monitoring in sandy beaches.

2025
Article Tier 2

An efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly protocol for extracting microplastics from soil samples

Researchers developed an efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly protocol for extracting microplastics from soil samples, addressing the lack of standardized methods and evaluating extraction performance across different soil matrices.

2025 Omorika - Repository of the Faculty of Forestry, Belgrade
Article Tier 2

A Simplified and Optimised Protocol for Microplastics Determination in Soil and Sludge Applied Soils

Researchers developed and validated a simplified, optimized protocol for determining microplastic concentrations in soil and sewage sludge, addressing the methodological inconsistency that currently makes comparison between global studies difficult.

2025 Sustainability Sciences in Asia and Africa
Article Tier 2

Plastic particles in soil: state of the knowledge on sources, occurrence and distribution, analytical methods and ecological impacts

This comprehensive review of plastic particles in soil covered sources, occurrence, analytical detection methods, and ecological impacts, identifying gaps in knowledge about terrestrial plastic fate and effects compared to the more extensively studied marine environment.

2021 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 121 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Citizen Science for Monitoring Plastic Pollution from Source to Sea: A Systematic Review of Methodologies, Best Practices, and Challenges

This systematic review examines how citizen science programs track plastic pollution from land to sea. The research found that while public participation greatly expands data collection, inconsistent methods and data quality issues limit the scientific usefulness of the results. Better-designed citizen science programs could help communities monitor and respond to the microplastic pollution in their local environments.

2025 Water 2 citations