Papers

61,005 results
|
Review Tier 2

Microplastics as contaminants in the marine environment: A review

This review synthesized the state of knowledge on microplastics as marine contaminants, covering their sources, pathways, distribution, biological uptake, and potential ecological and toxicological effects.

2011 Marine Pollution Bulletin 5709 citations
Article Tier 2

Distribution and importance of microplastics in the marine environment: A review of the sources, fate, effects, and potential solutions

This review synthesized research on the distribution and significance of microplastics across the marine environment, covering sources, transport pathways, ecological interactions, and the state of knowledge on biological and chemical effects.

2017 Environment International 2517 citations
Article Tier 2

The Contribution of Microplastics to Marine Pollution

This review examines the contribution of microplastics to marine pollution, covering the pathways by which plastic particles enter ocean systems, their distribution across ocean basins, effects on marine life, and the challenges of reducing the flow of plastic into the sea.

2025 International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology
Article Tier 2

The Sources and Fate of Plastic Entering the Marine Environment

This report reviews the sources, pathways, and environmental fate of plastic entering the marine environment, covering everything from land-based inputs via rivers to direct ocean dumping. It provides a comprehensive overview of how plastics reach the ocean and what happens to them once there.

2019 PEARL (University of Plymouth) 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Driver, Trends and Fate of Plastics and Micro Plastics Occurrence in the Environment

This review examines the sources, trends, and environmental fate of plastics and microplastics, which have become a major global pollution problem due to massive production and poor waste management. Understanding how plastics move through the environment is essential for designing effective pollution controls.

2023
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as contaminants in marine environment.

This review summarizes the sources, distribution, and environmental impacts of microplastics in the marine environment, covering how they enter the ocean, where they accumulate, and what harms they cause to marine organisms. It also discusses the potential for microplastics to transfer up the food chain to humans through seafood.

2021 Sustainability Agri Food and Environmental Research 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Research Progress in Transfer, Accumulation and Effects of Microplastics in the Oceans

This review summarized global research on microplastic distribution, accumulation, and biological effects in ocean environments, covering transport mechanisms from surface to deep sea, ingestion across the food web, and evidence for physical and chemical toxicity to marine organisms.

2021 Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 42 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence, effects and risks of marine microplastics

This review summarizes the state of knowledge on the occurrence, biological effects, and ecological risks of microplastics in the marine environment. It covers plastic sources, distribution patterns, ingestion by marine organisms, and the transfer of chemical pollutants through marine food webs, concluding that microplastic pollution poses serious and growing risks to ocean ecosystems.

2015 Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) 13 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

Sources, Fate, and Impact of Microplastics in Aquatic Environment

This review summarizes the sources, transport pathways, fate, and ecological impacts of microplastics in aquatic environments, noting that coastal areas have the highest concentrations but that microplastics sink and accumulate in deep sediments after fragmentation. The pervasive contamination of aquatic ecosystems poses threats to marine biota and food webs that ultimately affect human health.

2020 IntechOpen eBooks 33 citations
Review Tier 2

Sources, sinks and transformations of plastics in our oceans: Review, management strategies and modelling

This review synthesizes knowledge on ocean plastic sources, sinks, and transformations, and develops a preliminary dynamic model of plastic mobilization in marine environments that can predict distribution trends over time.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 113 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in the Marine Environment: A Review of Their Sources, Formation, Fate, and Ecotoxicological Impact

This review collates evidence on microplastics in the marine environment, covering primary and secondary sources, degradation pathways into particles under 5 mm, ecotoxicological effects on marine biota that ingest smaller particles, and the transport and deposition mechanisms governing microplastic fate in sediments, shorelines, and the deep sea.

2022 Environmental sciences 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of Microplastic Pollution in Marine Environments Sources, Distribution, and Impact

This review synthesizes evidence on microplastic contamination across all marine compartments — surface waters, sediments, and biota — analyzing major sources, distribution patterns, and ecological and human health impacts. The authors emphasize the pervasive and often irreversible nature of marine microplastic pollution.

2025 International Journal of Environmental Sciences
Article Tier 2

Marine Microplastic Pollution

This review examines microplastic pollution in marine ecosystems, summarizing the sources, distribution, and ecological effects of plastic particles in ocean environments and reviewing evidence for harm to marine organisms from physical ingestion and chemical exposure.

2025
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in marine ecosystems: Sources, effects, and mitigation strategies

This review examines the sources, environmental pathways, ecological impacts across trophic levels, and mitigation strategies for microplastic pollution in marine ecosystems, synthesizing current evidence on biological harm and evaluating policy frameworks, technological solutions, and individual behavioral changes aimed at reducing marine microplastic loads.

2022 International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in our oceans and marine health

This general review examined the scale of microplastic ocean contamination and its risks to marine life and human health, covering ingestion pathways, food web transfer, and the current regulatory landscape. The authors argue that public education, plastic use reduction, and stronger waste governance are essential to preventing further marine contamination.

2019 OpenEdition (OpenEdition) 110 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic Pollution in Oceans: a Review

This review examines plastic pollution in the world's oceans, covering sources, distribution pathways, ecological impacts, and the current state of scientific understanding of marine plastic contamination.

2024 Indian Journal of Scientific Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in the marine environment: Sources, impacts, and degradation.

This review summarizes existing research on microplastic pollution in the ocean, covering sources, effects on marine life, and degradation. Microplastics harm marine organisms across the food chain, from plankton to fish, affecting their growth, reproduction, immune systems, and behavior. Since humans consume many of these marine species, the widespread contamination raises concerns about microplastic exposure through seafood.

2025 Journal of Advanced Veterinary and Animal Research 7 citations
Article Tier 2

A review of possible pathways of marine microplastics transport in the ocean

This review examines the major pathways by which marine microplastics are transported through the ocean, including surface currents, vertical mixing, biological uptake, and seafloor deposition. Understanding these transport mechanisms is essential for predicting where plastic pollution accumulates and how it affects marine ecosystems.

2020 Anthropocene Coasts 157 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of Microplastic Impacts in the Marine Environment: A Review

This review summarizes the sources, environmental fate, and ecological impacts of microplastics in marine environments, covering impacts across food webs from phytoplankton to marine mammals. The authors identify key knowledge gaps and emphasize that biodiversity loss and food chain contamination are the most well-documented marine impacts. The review calls for integrated monitoring programs and international policy action to reduce plastic inputs to the ocean.

2021 Preprints.org 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding microplastic pollution of marine ecosystem: a review

This review summarizes the current understanding of microplastic pollution in oceans, covering where they come from, how they spread, and their harmful effects on marine life and potentially human health. Microplastics are found throughout the ocean -- from surface waters to deep sediments -- and can transfer toxic chemicals to organisms that consume them. The authors highlight that significant gaps remain in detection methods and understanding the full scope of how marine microplastics affect the food chain that leads to our plates.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 113 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic waste in the marine environment: A review of sources, occurrence and effects

This review covered the sources, occurrence, and ecological effects of plastic waste in the marine environment, synthesizing evidence on how plastic pollution enters the ocean, where it accumulates, and what harm it causes to marine life.

2016 The Science of The Total Environment 1713 citations
Article Tier 2

The present and future of microplastic pollution in the marine environment

This review assessed the current and projected state of microplastic pollution in the marine environment, examining evidence on sources, accumulation trends, and biological effects and arguing that the problem will worsen without significant intervention.

2013 Environmental Pollution 1556 citations
Article Tier 2

The behaviors of microplastics in the marine environment

This review synthesized research on the behaviors of microplastics in the marine environment — including transport, weathering, biofouling, ingestion, and chemical interactions — to characterize their full environmental lifecycle.

2015 Marine Environmental Research 810 citations