Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

From source to sink: part 1—characterization and Lagrangian tracking of riverine microplastics in the Mediterranean Basin

Researchers characterized riverine microplastics from source to coastal sink, using Lagrangian tracking to trace the transport of particles from inland rivers to coastal deposition zones and identifying key retention points in the system.

2024 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Lagrangian tracking of river microplastics in the Mediterranean Basin

Researchers applied a Mediterranean river microplastic source scenario to Lagrangian dispersion simulations using high-resolution 3D current fields from the SYMPHONIE hydrodynamic model, tracking river MP inputs through the semi-enclosed Mediterranean Basin to quantify sources, transfers, and accumulation hotspots.

2025
Article Tier 2

Modeling the Pathways and Accumulation Patterns of Micro- and Macro-Plastics in the Mediterranean

A basin-scale hydrodynamic model tracked plastic debris pathways in the Mediterranean Sea, showing that coastal currents concentrate plastics in the northwestern basin and that both riverine inputs and sea-based sources contribute substantially to the distribution hotspots observed at the surface.

2021 Frontiers in Marine Science 86 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluation des apports fluviaux de microplastiques et modélisation de leur dispersion en mer Méditerranée

This French doctoral research estimated the annual flux of microplastics from rivers into the Mediterranean Sea and used transport models to track their dispersal. The results show that rivers are the dominant pathway delivering microplastics to the Mediterranean, and the modeling reveals hotspots of accumulation in specific coastal areas.

2021 ZooKeys
Article Tier 2

Lagrangian Transport of Marine Litter in the Mediterranean Sea

Researchers analyzed the largest available set of Lagrangian drift data from the Mediterranean Sea to model floating litter transport, finding a general tendency for plastic debris to accumulate in the southern and southeastern Levantine basin — areas not yet targeted by observational campaigns.

2017 Frontiers in Environmental Science 136 citations
Article Tier 2

Knowledge about Microplastic in Mediterranean Tributary River Ecosystems: Lack of Data and Research Needs on Such a Crucial Marine Pollution Source

This review surveys the limited literature on microplastic pollution in freshwater rivers feeding the Mediterranean Sea, finding major gaps in data and inconsistent methods. The authors call for standardized monitoring protocols to better understand how rivers transport microplastics from land to the ocean.

2020 Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 42 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in the Mediterranean: Variability From Observations and Model Analysis

Researchers combined field sampling across four Mediterranean coastal areas with hydrodynamic and particle drift modeling to characterize microplastic abundance, size, and polymer type variability, finding that wastewater and river inputs drive spatial patterns of surface MP distribution.

2022 Frontiers in Marine Science 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Simulation of the transport of marine microplastic particles in the Ionian Archipelago (NE Ionian Sea) using a Lagrangian model and the control mechanisms affecting their transport

Researchers used a Lagrangian particle-tracking model to simulate microplastic transport in the Ionian Archipelago, finding that oceanographic currents drove significant dispersal of particles released from coastal population centers, with implications for biodiversity in this ecologically sensitive part of the Mediterranean.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 26 citations
Article Tier 2

A coupled Lagrangian-Eulerian model for microplastics as vectors of contaminants applied to the Mediterranean Sea

A coupled Lagrangian-Eulerian ocean model was developed to simulate microplastics as vectors for adsorbed chemical contaminants in the Mediterranean Sea, tracking plastic particle trajectories alongside pollutant exchange dynamics. The model demonstrates that microplastics can transport contaminants across basin-scale distances and deliver them to organisms far from the original pollution source.

2022 Environmental Research Letters 19 citations
Article Tier 2

From source to sink: part 2—seasonal dispersion of microplastics discharged in the NW Mediterranean Sea by the Rhone River in southern France

A 3D ocean transport model simulated how microplastics discharged by the Rhone River — the Mediterranean's largest freshwater input — disperse seasonally across the northwestern Mediterranean. Up to 60% of floating microplastics were exported eastward toward Algeria, Tunisia, and the Balearic Islands, while winter floods dramatically increased coastal stranding, demonstrating that a single major river can be responsible for contaminating shorelines and ocean basins thousands of kilometers away.

2024 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 3 citations
Article Tier 2

A Regional Lagrangian Model for Assessing the Dispersion of Floating Macroplastics from Different Source Types over the Iberian Peninsula in the North Atlantic Ocean

Researchers used a validated Lagrangian model to track floating macroplastics entering the North Atlantic from rivers, land-based sources, and maritime traffic along Spain's Atlantic coast, finding significant plastic concentrations near the coastline and at medium distances over a seven-year simulation period.

2023
Article Tier 2

Pathways and Hot Spots of Floating and Submerged Microplastics in Atlantic Iberian Marine Waters: A Modelling Approach

Researchers combined a global ocean reanalysis model with a Lagrangian particle-tracking model to simulate the transport pathways and accumulation zones of both floating and submerged microplastics originating from southwestern Iberian coastal waters. The modelling approach identified key hotspots and transport corridors for microplastic pollution in Atlantic Iberian marine waters.

2022 Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantifying Transboundary Plastic Pollution in Marine Protected Areas Across the Mediterranean Sea

Researchers used a Lagrangian drift model to quantify transboundary plastic pollution in Mediterranean marine protected areas, finding that 13 of 15 countries had at least one MPA where over 55% of macroplastic originated from foreign sources.

2022 Frontiers in Marine Science 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Inferring microplastics origins in the Mediterranean Sea by coupling modelling and in-situ measurements

Researchers combined Lagrangian particle-tracking modelling with in-situ manta-net trawls north of the Balearic Islands and along the Balearic Front in autumn 2019 to infer the origins of Mediterranean microplastics. They found that the area north of Mallorca acts as a temporary three-month retention zone for microplastics originating from the Northern Current and Gulf of Lion, while retention along the Balearic Front was less clear due to frontal dynamics and strong northerly winds.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 5 citations
Article Tier 2

The dynamics of microplastics and associated contaminants: Data-driven Lagrangian and Eulerian modelling approaches in the Mediterranean Sea

Researchers compared Lagrangian and Eulerian data-driven modelling approaches to simulate microplastic dispersal and associated organic pollutant transport in the Mediterranean Sea, finding that adsorption-desorption dynamics between microplastics and hydrophobic contaminants must be coupled for accurate pollution assessment.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 44 citations
Article Tier 2

A Lagrangian model for microplastics transport in SERGHEI

Researchers implemented a Lagrangian particle tracking model for microplastic transport in the SERGHEI river flow simulation framework to predict plastic movement and fate in river systems. The model successfully reproduced field observations of microplastic distribution in test rivers and is applicable for assessing plastic pollution transport and identifying accumulation zones.

2025
Article Tier 2

Spatio-temporal distribution of microplastics in a Mediterranean river catchment: The importance of wastewater as an environmental pathway

Microplastic concentrations were mapped across a Mediterranean river catchment in central Spain over multiple seasons, finding that wastewater treatment plant effluents were the dominant point source and that storm events transiently increased concentrations in downstream reaches by mobilizing accumulated particles from river beds and floodplains.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 97 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate of river-derived microplastics from the South China Sea: Sources to surrounding seas, shores, and abysses

Researchers used Lagrangian particle tracking numerical simulations to model the transport and dispersal of river-derived microplastics from the Pearl, Mekong, and Pasig rivers in the South China Sea, tracking buoyant and sinking MP types to map their fate across surface waters, surrounding seas, coastlines, and deep abyssal zones.

2022 Environmental Pollution 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Trajectory, fate, and magnitude of continental microplastic loads to the inner shelf: A case study of the world's largest coastal shallow lagoon

Researchers modeled the continental-scale transport and eventual fate of microplastics, estimating how particles move from terrestrial sources through river systems to coastal and open ocean environments. The analysis highlights oceans as the ultimate sink for a large fraction of land-derived microplastics.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Oceanic Transport and Source Inference of Nanoplastics

This thesis advances understanding of nanoplastic origins, transport, and fate in the ocean using numerical Lagrangian simulations, computing virtual particle trajectories to reconstruct transport pathways, infer pollution sources, and assess accumulation dynamics of nanoplastics in marine environments.

2025
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in the Mediterranean Sea: Deposition in coastal shallow sediments, spatial variation and preferential grain size

Researchers sampled Mediterranean coastal shallow sediments and found microplastics throughout, with concentrations and polymer types reflecting land-based inputs and showing that coastal sediments are a significant regional reservoir for plastic debris.

2016 Marine Environmental Research 617 citations
Article Tier 2

Supporting Data for "Identifying the Origins of Nanoplastics in the Abyssal South Atlantic Using Backtracking Lagrangian Simulations with Fragmentation"

Researchers provided supporting simulation data and analysis code for a study tracing the origins of nanoplastics found in the abyssal South Atlantic Ocean using backtracking Lagrangian particle simulations that incorporated plastic fragmentation dynamics. The repository includes the computational tools and supplementary documentation used in the associated manuscript.

2024 Open MIND
Article Tier 2

The streaming of plastic in the Mediterranean Sea

Using plastic tracking models and the largest Mediterranean plastic dataset to date, researchers identified crossroad zones through which about 20% of the sea's annually released plastic debris flows through just 1% of the basin's surface area. Identifying these high-flux zones could inform targeted cleanup and monitoring strategies.

2022 Nature Communications 65 citations
Article Tier 2

An evaluation of surface micro- and mesoplastic pollution in pelagic ecosystems of the Western Mediterranean Sea

Researchers found that micro- and mesoplastic debris were widely and uniformly distributed across the Western Mediterranean Sea, with average surface concentrations of approximately 130,000 microplastic particles per km2 and 5,700 mesoplastic particles per km2. Fragment morphology and polymer composition analysis indicated a predominantly land-based origin for the debris.

2015 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 173 citations