Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Settling Velocities of Small Microplastic Fragments and Fibers

Researchers precisely measured the settling speeds of over 4,000 small microplastic particles in water and found that existing prediction models designed for larger microplastics do not work well for these tiny fragments and fibers. The settling speed depends on each particle's size, density, and shape, with the smallest particles sinking extremely slowly. Understanding how quickly microplastics settle in water is important because it determines how far they travel and how long they remain available to be consumed by aquatic organisms that humans may eventually eat.

2024 Environmental Science & Technology 63 citations
Article Tier 2

Settling velocities of microplastics and tire and road wear particles

Researchers developed a high-precision optical imaging method to measure how fast small microplastics (10–400 micrometers) and tire-and-road wear particles sink through water, filling a critical data gap needed to predict where these pollutants accumulate in aquatic environments.

2025
Article Tier 2

Particle tracking algorithm and additional data for "Optimized and Validated Settling Velocity Measurement for Small Microplastic Particles (10–400 µm)"

This dataset and code repository accompanies a study on measuring the settling velocity of small microplastic particles (10–400 µm) in water. The materials include image processing routines and particle tracking algorithms designed to improve measurement accuracy for tiny plastic fragments. Accurate settling data helps predict how microplastics distribute in water bodies.

2023 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Particle tracking algorithm and additional data for "Optimized and Validated Settling Velocity Measurement for Small Microplastic Particles (10–400 µm)"

Researchers developed and published a particle tracking algorithm and supplementary datasets supporting validated settling velocity measurements for small microplastic particles in the 10-400 µm size range. The repository includes image processing routines, single-particle raw settling data, empirical model results for particle interaction effects, and supporting videos.

2023 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Sinking velocity of sub-millimeter microplastic

Researchers measured the sinking velocities of irregularly shaped microplastic particles (polyamide, PMMA, and PET, 6–251 μm) and found they sink considerably slower than theoretical predictions for spheres of equivalent size, developing a predictive model based on particle size and excess density to better represent how real-world microplastics settle through the water column.

2018 Marine Pollution Bulletin 109 citations
Article Tier 2

A new model for the terminal settling velocity of microplastics

A new empirical model for the terminal settling velocity of microplastics was developed and validated using 1,343 experimental measurements covering a range of particle shapes and materials. The model improves predictions of microplastic sedimentation rates, which are critical for understanding how plastic particles are transported and deposited in water bodies.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 68 citations
Article Tier 2

Settling velocity of microplastic particles of regular shapes

This study measured the sinking velocities of spherical, cylindrical, and filament-shaped microplastic particles ranging from 0.5 to 5 mm, finding that shape strongly determines how quickly particles settle through the water column. Understanding settling behavior is essential for modeling how microplastics are transported and deposited in marine environments.

2016 Marine Pollution Bulletin 457 citations
Article Tier 2

An experimental study on microplastic settling velocities in different water environments: Which factors shape the settling process?

Researchers experimentally investigated how biofilm formation and weathering processes affect the settling velocities of microplastics across different water matrices, identifying the key physical and biological factors shaping how particles sink in aquatic environments.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin
Article Tier 2

Additional data for "Settling Velocities of Small Microplastic Fragments and Fibers"

This data repository provides raw settling velocity measurements for small microplastic fragments and fibers, supporting a publication on their transport behavior in water. Settling velocity data is critical for modeling where microplastics deposit in rivers, lakes, and ocean sediments.

2023 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Settling velocity of microplastic particles having regular and irregular shapes

Researchers measured how quickly microplastic particles of various shapes settle through water, testing 66 different particle types including spheres, cylinders, fibers, and irregular fragments. They found that particle shape significantly affects settling speed, with fibers and flat shapes sinking more slowly than spheres of the same size. The study provides new equations for predicting where microplastics end up in oceans and waterways based on their shape.

2023 Environmental Research 86 citations
Article Tier 2

Modeling Microplastic Transport in the Marine Environment: Testing Empirical Models of Particle Terminal Sinking Velocity for Irregularly Shaped Particles

Researchers tested multiple drag models for predicting the terminal settling velocity of irregularly shaped microplastic particles in seawater, identifying three high-precision models and demonstrating that settling velocity is largely stable across ocean depths and independent of initial particle velocity, improving the accuracy of marine microplastic transport simulations.

2023 ACS ES&T Water 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Settling velocity of submillimeter microplastic fibers in still water

The settling velocity of 519 submillimeter microplastic fibers (300-600 micrometers long) was measured in still water, finding that settling rates vary considerably by fiber length and orientation, informing models of microplastic fiber transport and deposition in aquatic systems.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 15 citations
Article Tier 2

An Open-Source Computer Vision-Based Method for Microplastic Settling Velocity Calculation

Researchers developed an open-source computer vision method to measure microplastic settling velocities from video recordings, enabling low-cost quantification of how particles of different sizes and densities sink in water columns with implications for predicting MP fate in aquatic environments.

2025 Preprints.org
Article Tier 2

The curious case of microplastic settling velocity within suspended sediment

Researchers investigated the settling velocity of microplastics within suspended sediment in freshwater environments, aiming to better characterize the transport dynamics of these persistent pollutants through the water column. Their analysis highlighted that microplastic settling behavior is complex and context-dependent, complicating predictions of temporal and spatial distribution in rivers.

2025
Article Tier 2

Three-Dimensional Settling Dynamics of Environmental Microplastics

Researchers measured the three-dimensional settling dynamics of environmental microplastic particles in water, including lateral drift, settling paths, and horizontal velocities—dimensions poorly understood beyond simple vertical settling rates. The findings are essential for developing accurate models of how MPs distribute across river channels and water columns.

2026 Environmental Science & Technology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Sedimentation behavior of aggregated microplastics: Influence of particle size and water constituents in environmental waters

Laboratory experiments investigated how aggregation of microplastics with sediments and organic matter affects their sinking rates in water, finding that aggregate composition strongly influences settling velocity. These findings improve models predicting whether microplastics sink to the seafloor or remain suspended in the water column.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Settling velocities of microplastics with different shapes in sediment-water mixtures

Researchers studied how the shape of microplastic particles affects how quickly they sink in water containing suspended sediment. They found that fibers and films settle much more slowly than fragments and pellets, and that sediment in the water significantly slows the settling of all microplastic types. These findings are important for predicting where microplastics accumulate in lakes, rivers, and oceans.

2025 Environmental Pollution 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluating settling velocities of microplastics-sediment mixtures under laboratory conditions

This laboratory study investigated how microplastics behave when mixed with natural sediment particles and allowed to settle in water, finding that the combined aggregates settle at different rates than either material alone. Smaller microplastics were particularly prone to forming flocs with sediment, which can accelerate their sinking and burial in riverbeds and lake bottoms. Understanding these settling dynamics is important for predicting where microplastics accumulate in aquatic environments and how they interact with the food chain.

2025 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Towards better predicting the settling velocity of film-shaped microplastics based on experiment and simulation data

Researchers combined experimental and simulation data to better predict how film-shaped microplastics settle through water, since most existing models are based on spherical particles. They found that the particle definition approach was more suitable than equivalent spherical diameter for characterizing flat, irregular microplastics. The improved settling velocity predictions could help scientists better understand how film-shaped microplastics travel and accumulate in aquatic environments.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Sinking rates of microplastics and potential implications of their alteration by physical, biological, and chemical factors

Researchers conducted sinking experiments with diverse microplastic particles and found that sinking velocity depends not only on density and size but also on particle shape, and that biofouling and weathering can substantially alter sinking rates with implications for how microplastics distribute through the water column.

2016 Marine Pollution Bulletin 595 citations