Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Reply on RC1

This study provides the first estimates of how much microplastic is delivered from agricultural soils to freshwater systems through surface runoff and erosion. Soil erosion events can mobilize accumulated microplastics from farmland into rivers, representing a significant and previously underestimated transport pathway.

2023
Article Tier 2

Model-based analysis of erosion-induced microplastic delivery from arable land to the stream network of a mesoscale catchment

Researchers developed the first catchment-scale model estimating how much microplastic is transported from farmland soils into stream networks through soil erosion. The study found that erosion can be a significant pathway for moving microplastics from agricultural fields into rivers, with implications for downstream water quality.

2023 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Comment on egusphere-2023-882

This peer review discusses a modeling study that estimated microplastic delivery from agricultural soils to river networks in southern Germany via erosion and runoff. The model found that tire wear was responsible for 80% of the estimated annual flux of 6.33 kg of microplastics reaching the river network from a 390 km2 catchment.

2023
Article Tier 2

Comment on egusphere-2024-2788

Researchers developed a reduced-complexity model of microplastic erosion, transport, and deposition in river systems, building on established sediment transport methods to explore how fluvial processes trap and store microplastics as they move from terrestrial sources toward the marine environment, finding that rivers may represent an important global reservoir of microplastic pollution.

2024
Article Tier 2

Model-based analysis of erosion-induced microplastic delivery from arable land to the stream network of a mesoscale catchment

Researchers applied a model-based analysis to quantify how erosion transports microplastics from agricultural land to the stream network of a mesoscale catchment, finding that surface runoff and soil erosion are significant pathways for microplastic delivery to inland waters.

2024 SOIL 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil erosion is a major drive for nano & micro-plastics to enter riverine systems from cultivated land.

A study quantifying how soil erosion transports nano and microplastics from cultivated land into rivers found that erosion is a major pathway for plastic transfer to aquatic systems, with plastic flux closely linked to soil loss rates and land management practices.

2024 Water research
Article Tier 2

Soil erosion as transport pathway of microplastic from agriculture soils to aquatic ecosystems

Researchers simulated heavy rainfall events on agricultural soils containing microplastics and tracked particle transport through runoff and erosion, finding that soil erosion is a significant pathway for moving agricultural microplastics into adjacent water bodies, with particle size and shape governing transport distance.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 166 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding the overland transport of microplastics from agricultural soils to freshwater systems

This study investigated how microplastics move from agricultural soils to freshwater systems through surface runoff. Researchers found that rainfall intensity, soil type, and particle characteristics all influenced how much plastic reached waterways. Understanding the overland transport pathway is important because agricultural soils are one of the largest reservoirs of microplastics in terrestrial environments.

2023
Article Tier 2

Quantifying the movement of microplastics in soil in response to overland flow and splash erosion

Researchers quantified how overland flow and raindrop splash erosion mobilize and transport microplastics from soil surfaces. Both processes moved microplastic particles, with splash being particularly effective at short distances and overland flow dominating transport over larger areas. Understanding these erosion-driven transport processes is important for predicting how microplastics move from agricultural fields into streams and rivers.

2023
Article Tier 2

Quantifying soil surface erosion

This study quantified soil surface erosion rates using a combination of field measurements and modeling, examining how land use, vegetation cover, and rainfall intensity interact to drive soil loss. The findings provide improved estimates for erosion-driven microplastic transport in agricultural landscapes.

2024 Comptes Rendus Physique 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Comment on egusphere-2024-2788

Researchers developed a reduced-complexity model to explore how microplastics are transported through fluvial systems from source to marine sink, investigating the potential for rivers to act as significant reservoirs of microplastic pollution. The study examines the trapping dynamics of microplastics within river systems, analogous to sediment transport, and assesses their global significance as microplastic stores.

2024
Article Tier 2

Reply on RC2

This peer response discusses a study on microplastic delivery from soils to inland waters through surface runoff and erosion. Soils act as both sinks and sources of microplastics, and rainfall-driven runoff is an important pathway for transferring soil microplastics into rivers and ultimately the ocean.

2023
Article Tier 2

Investigating the Environmental Fate and Pathways of Microplastics from Agricultural Catchments to Freshwater

This thesis investigated the environmental fate of microplastics from agricultural catchments to freshwater systems in the UK, examining pathways by which microplastics move from farm soils into rivers and streams.

2023 Research Repository UCD (University College Dublin)
Article Tier 2

A numerical model of microplastic erosion, transport, and deposition for fluvial systems

Researchers developed a numerical model of microplastic erosion, transport, and deposition in river systems, finding that rivers act as temporary sinks trapping significant fractions of MPs before they reach the ocean, with implications for estimating marine MP loading from terrestrial sources.

2025 Earth Surface Dynamics 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport processes of microplastic particles in the fluvial environment : erosion, transport and deposition

This thesis examines how microplastics are eroded, transported, and deposited in river systems, tracing their movement from land sources to the ocean. The research fills an important gap in understanding how rivers act as conduits for microplastic pollution and what processes determine where plastic particles accumulate in freshwater environments.

2020 RWTH Publications (RWTH Aachen) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Reply to reviewer comments on egusphere-2024-2788

Researchers developed a reduced-complexity model of microplastic erosion, transport, and deposition in river systems based on sediment transport methods, applying it to the Tet River in France and finding that the model accurately captures observed microplastic flux at the outlet when assuming 1-10 ppm volume concentration of microplastic in the top 0.5 m of soil with 300 µm grain size particles settling at approximately 10^-4 m/sec.

2024
Article Tier 2

Catchment-scale mechanistic predictions of microplastic transport and distribution across land and water

Researchers developed the first catchment-scale model successfully predicting microplastic transport from land to water, validated against field data, revealing how soil accumulation, runoff dynamics, and in-stream transport interact to determine where microplastics concentrate before reaching the ocean.

2022 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Processes controlling the transportation of microplastics in agricultural soils

Researchers investigated the physical processes controlling microplastic transport through agricultural soils, examining how soil structure, water flow, bioturbation, and particle properties interact to move microplastics from surface application sites deeper into the soil profile or laterally toward aquatic systems. The study addressed the dual role of agricultural soils as both sinks and potential sources of microplastic pollution to surrounding environments.

2022
Article Tier 2

The synchronized dynamic release behavior of microplastics during farmland soil erosion process

Field and laboratory experiments on farmland soil in coastal China showed that roughly half of the microplastics present in agricultural soil can be mobilized and released into water bodies during erosion events. The dynamic release pattern — an initial decrease followed by a sharp increase — is driven by competition between particle adsorption, sedimentation, and resuspension, highlighting that controlling soil erosion is a critical and underappreciated lever for preventing microplastic contamination of rivers and coastal waters.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 3 citations
Article Tier 2

The spatio-temporal variability of soil microplastic distribution and erosion-induced microplastic export under extreme rainfall event using sediment fingerprinting and 7Be in intensive agricultural catchment

Researchers tracked how soil erosion during extreme rainfall events transports microplastics from agricultural land into waterways at the catchment scale. Microplastic abundance in soil peaked during certain seasons and was highest in cropland converted from forest, with most particles smaller than 500 micrometers. Using sediment fingerprinting and beryllium-7 tracing, the study estimated substantial microplastic export loads, showing that agricultural erosion is a significant pathway for microplastic pollution in water bodies.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Comment on egusphere-2023-939

This comment paper proposes a framework for building river network models from geographic information system data to study environmental processes in rivers. Improved river modeling tools help predict how microplastics are transported and distributed through river networks to coastal ecosystems.

2023
Article Tier 2

A theoretical assessment of microplastic transport in river catchments and their retention by soils and river sediments

Researchers developed a mathematical model to theoretically assess how microplastics move through river systems, from agricultural soils where sewage sludge is applied to rivers and eventually the sea. The model predicted that 16 to 38 percent of heavier-than-water microplastics added to soils would remain stored locally, while smaller and lighter particles would be transported downstream. The study provides a framework for understanding microplastic pathways through landscapes, even as real-world monitoring data remain scarce.

2016 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 780 citations
Article Tier 2

A numerical model of microplastic erosion, transport, and deposition for fluvial systems

Researchers developed a reduced-complexity numerical model of microplastic erosion, transport, and deposition in fluvial systems, building on sediment transport methods and applying it to the Têt River in France where outlet flux monitoring data were available. The model found that matching observed fluxes required 1-10 ppm volume concentration of microplastic in the top 0.5 meters of soil, and predicted that a large proportion of microplastics become trapped in river sediments rather than reaching the ocean.

2024
Article Tier 2

Quantifying microplastic fluvial flux from a coastal watershed—A microplastic rating curve approach

Researchers quantified the flux of microplastics transported by rivers to the coast from a single watershed, providing a mass balance for how much plastic a defined catchment exports. Such flux estimates are essential building blocks for calculating global land-to-ocean plastic budgets.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management 1 citations