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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Comment on ar-2024-9
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Researchers studied the vertical transport of airborne microplastics in a wind tunnel under neutral stability conditions, injecting polystyrene microspheres of 0.51 micrometers diameter via an ultrasonic disperser to identify the conditions required for long-range atmospheric transport. The controlled experimental setup provided time-invariant generation of single airborne particles to characterize the aerodynamic behavior governing microplastic dispersion in the atmosphere.
Comment on ar-2024-9
Researchers studied the vertical transport of airborne microplastics in a wind tunnel under controlled neutral stability conditions, using an ultrasonic disperser to generate polystyrene particle-laden aerosols and identify the conditions enabling long-range atmospheric transport. They found specific turbulence and particle size thresholds determining whether microplastics become suspended for long-range dispersal versus depositing locally.
Vertical concentrations gradients and transport of airborne microplastics in wind tunnel experiments
Researchers used a wind tunnel to study the vertical transport and concentration gradients of airborne polystyrene microplastics (0.51 micrometers diameter) injected at different heights under neutral atmospheric stability conditions. Results showed that maximum particle concentrations shifted toward the surface due to gravitational settling, and flux-gradient similarity analysis revealed the conditions necessary for long-range atmospheric microplastic transport.
Vertical concentrations gradients and transport of airborne microplastics in wind tunnel experiments
Wind tunnel experiments tracked how tiny airborne microplastic particles (about half a micrometer in diameter) distribute vertically in moving air, finding conditions under which they can remain suspended and travel long distances. These results help explain how microplastics reach remote environments like mountain peaks and Arctic ice, and contribute to models of human inhalation exposure in urban and rural settings.
Is transport of microplastics different from mineral particles? Idealized wind tunnel studies on polyethylene microspheres
Wind tunnel experiments revealed that plastic (polyethylene) microspheres behave differently from mineral dust particles when transported by wind, particularly on hydrophobic surfaces, where plastic particles detach and become airborne more readily. Particle-to-particle collisions were found to both assist and impede detachment. These findings help explain why microplastics are found in remote atmospheric environments and improve models for predicting how far plastic particles can travel through the air from pollution sources.
Is transport of microplastics different from that of mineral dust? Results from idealized wind tunnel studies
Researchers conducted wind tunnel experiments to examine the detachment and transport behavior of microplastics ranging from 38 to 125 um in diameter from idealized substrates, comparing their aerodynamic behavior to the well-established literature on mineral dust transport. The study identified key differences in microplastic detachment mechanisms relevant to understanding long-range atmospheric dispersal of plastic particles.
Particle properties and environmental factors control atmospheric transport and deposition of micro- and nanoplastics
Researchers built a mathematical model to predict how micro- and nanoplastics travel through the atmosphere, finding that particles around 1 micrometer in diameter and fiber-shaped plastics can remain airborne for weeks and travel long distances. Factors like wind speed, rainfall, and the particles' own shape and density determine whether plastics stay in the air for seconds or spread globally.
Evidence of free tropospheric and long-range transport of microplastic at Pic du Midi Observatory
Researchers found microplastic particles in the free troposphere at nearly 2,900 meters elevation at Pic du Midi Observatory, with air trajectory modeling showing intercontinental and trans-oceanic transport, demonstrating that microplastics can travel vast distances through the upper atmosphere.
Micro- and nanoplastics transfer from seawater to the atmosphere through aerosolization under controlled laboratory conditions
Using a laboratory wave-action tank, researchers demonstrated that polystyrene beads of 0.5-10 microns are efficiently aerosolized from seawater into spray aerosols, with enrichment factors of up to 19-fold for 0.5 micron particles, confirming sea spray as a vector for micro- and nanoplastic atmospheric transport.
A Review of Atmospheric Micro/Nanoplastics: Insights into Source and Fate for Modelling Studies
This review synthesizes current knowledge about how micro- and nanoplastics move through the atmosphere, covering their sources, transport mechanisms, and eventual deposition. Researchers found that atmospheric transport can carry these particles over long distances quickly, making it a major pathway for global plastic pollution spread. The study identifies key knowledge gaps needed for developing accurate models of airborne microplastic behavior.
Shape matters: long-range transport of microplastic fibers in the atmosphere
This study modeled the long-range atmospheric transport of microplastic fibers, finding that their elongated non-spherical shape causes them to travel much farther than spherical particles before settling. This helps explain why microplastic fibers are found even in the most remote locations on Earth, far from any plastic pollution source.
Geometric Form and Density Govern Microplastic Particle Kinetics During Aeolian Transport
Scientists studied how tiny plastic particles move through the air and found that they travel faster and farther than natural particles like sand. This means microplastics can spread much more easily through wind to remote areas where people live, including places far from pollution sources. Understanding how these plastics move through the air is important because it helps explain why microplastics are showing up everywhere on Earth, potentially affecting human health through the air we breathe.
Atmospheric transport dynamics of microplastic fibres
Researchers examined the atmospheric transport dynamics of microplastic fibres within boundary layer flows, comparing their motion to mineral grain transport and finding key differences in behaviour that have important implications for modelling the long-range atmospheric dispersal of microplastics to remote and rural locations.
Sources and Circulation of Microplastics in the Aerosphere – Atmospheric Transport of Microplastics
This review examines sources, transport mechanisms, and deposition patterns of airborne microplastics in the atmosphere, finding that factors like wind, temperature, rainfall, population density, and human activities influence their abundance and long-distance dispersal.
Atmospheric Microplastics: Inputs and Outputs
Researchers examined how microplastics enter and move through the atmosphere, finding that up to 8.6 megatons per year may be suspended in air above the oceans alone. The particles are launched into the air from ocean spray and land-based sources, then distributed by wind before returning to Earth through rain and dry deposition. The study highlights that atmospheric transport is a major pathway for spreading microplastic contamination to even the most remote regions of the planet.
Entrainment and horizontal atmospheric transport of microplastics from soil
Researchers investigated the mechanisms by which microplastics become entrained from soil into the atmosphere, finding that wind-driven processes can transport plastic particles horizontally near the ground surface, establishing agricultural soils as a significant source of airborne microplastics.
Is atmospheric pathway a significant contributor to microplastics in the marine environment?
Researchers reviewed evidence for atmospheric transport of microplastics to and from marine environments, finding that wind-driven processes like sand storms, bubble bursts, and sea spray can eject microplastics from ocean surfaces into aerosols, making the atmosphere a significant but understudied pathway in the marine microplastic cycle.
Physical and Chemical Characterisation of Nanoplastic Aerosol
Researchers physically and chemically characterized nanoplastic aerosol particles to better understand their atmospheric behavior, finding that particle size and surface chemistry influence their capacity for long-range atmospheric transport and deposition in remote environments.
Microplastics ride the atmosphere
Research confirms that microplastic particles are transported through the atmosphere over long distances, depositing in remote areas including the Arctic and high mountains. Atmospheric transport is now recognized as a major pathway spreading microplastic contamination to virtually every part of the planet.
Dynamics of airborne microplastics, appraisal and distributional behaviour in atmosphere; a review
This review explores the sources, distribution, and behaviour of airborne microplastics in the terrestrial environment. Researchers summarize how factors like size, density, and atmospheric conditions influence microplastic transport and concentration in air. The study highlights that airborne exposure represents a significant and relatively understudied route of human microplastic intake, with particles capable of carrying organic pollutants that bioaccumulate through food webs.
Physical characteristics of microplastic particles and potential for global atmospheric transport: A meta-analysis
This meta-analysis pools data from multiple studies to examine the physical characteristics of airborne microplastics and how they travel through the atmosphere. The findings confirm that microplastics can be transported globally by wind, meaning people everywhere are breathing in these particles regardless of how far they live from pollution sources.
Normalized Settling Velocity Governs Short-Range Transport of Atmospheric Microplastics
Wind tunnel experiments showed that how fast a microplastic particle settles under gravity—its normalized settling velocity—is the single best predictor of how far it travels through the air before landing. This finding helps fill a major gap in atmospheric microplastic research by enabling better models of where airborne plastic particles deposit, which affects estimates of human inhalation exposure and ecosystem contamination.
Effects of Shape and Size on Microplastic Atmospheric Settling Velocity
Researchers measured atmospheric settling and horizontal drift velocities of various microplastic shapes and sizes in controlled settling chambers, providing empirical data needed to improve atmospheric transport models that explain how microplastics reach remote environments.
Is plastic dust different from mineral dust? Results from idealized wind tunnel experiments.
Researchers conducted wind tunnel experiments to compare how plastic particles of different sizes detach from flat surfaces in wind compared to mineral dust particles. Plastic particles required higher wind speeds to become airborne than mineral dust of similar size, likely due to shape differences. These findings inform atmospheric transport models for predicting how far and how much microplastic can be carried by wind across the landscape.