Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Spatial prediction of physical and chemical properties of soil using optical satellite imagery: a state-of-the-art hybridization of deep learning algorithm

Not relevant to microplastics — this study uses deep learning models combining satellite imagery and topographic data to predict soil chemical properties (pH, organic carbon, phosphorus, potassium) across a region of Iran, with no connection to microplastic pollution.

2023 Frontiers in Environmental Science 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Using machine learning to reveal drivers of soil microplastics and assess their stock: A national-scale study

Using machine learning on data from 621 sites across China, researchers identified nine key factors driving microplastic distribution in soil, including population density, plastic production, and agricultural practices. The study estimated that Chinese topsoil contains a substantial stock of microplastics, with concentrations varying widely by region. This large-scale analysis helps predict where microplastic contamination is worst, which is important for understanding human exposure through food grown in contaminated soil.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Strategies for Regulating the Bioavailability and Mobility of Se and Cd in Cd-Contaminated Seleniferous Soils: Coupling the Bioavailable Se:Cd Molar Ratio with Soil Properties

Not relevant to microplastics — this study examines how the ratio of bioavailable selenium to cadmium in naturally selenium-rich soils affects the mobility and availability of both elements, finding that soil type and land use drive these dynamics through changes in iron-aluminum oxides and organic matter.

2024 Agronomy 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Pollution In Agricultural Lands And Its Environmental Impact Assessed Through Remote Sensing

Researchers combined field sampling and remote sensing to assess microplastic pollution in agricultural soils across three Indian locations, finding microplastics in both surface and subsurface layers and correlating pollution levels with land use patterns detectable by satellite imagery.

2025 International Journal of Environmental Sciences
Article Tier 2

Coupling hyperspectral imaging with machine learning algorithms for detecting polyethylene (PE) and polyamide (PA) in soils.

Researchers combined hyperspectral imaging with machine learning algorithms to detect polyethylene and polyamide microplastics in soil samples. This rapid detection approach could support large-scale soil monitoring for microplastic contamination, which is important given that agricultural soils may accumulate plastics from mulch films, irrigation water, and sewage sludge.

2024 Journal of hazardous materials
Article Tier 2

Application of Remote Sensing for the Detection and Monitoring of Microplastics in the Coastal Zone of the Colombian Caribbean

Researchers explored using remote sensing technology, including Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and machine learning algorithms, to detect and monitor microplastic pollution along the Colombian Caribbean coast. The study found that combining multispectral satellite data with computational models shows promise for systematic, large-scale monitoring of coastal microplastic contamination in regions where ground-level surveillance remains limited.

2025 Microplastics 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Application of machine learning in assessing spatial distribution patterns of soil microplastics: a case study of the Bang Pakong Watershed, Thailand

Machine learning models were applied to predict spatial distribution patterns of microplastics in soils across a Thai watershed, identifying land use types and proximity to water bodies as key factors driving contamination levels.

2023
Article Tier 2

Microplastic deposits prediction on Urban Sandy Beaches: Integrating Remote Sensing, GNSS Positioning, µ-Raman Spectroscopy, and Machine Learning Models

Researchers integrated remote sensing, GNSS altimetric surveys, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and machine learning models to predict microplastic deposition patterns on urban sandy beaches along the central Sao Paulo coastline, finding MP concentrations ranging from 6 to 35 MPs/m2.

2025 LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas)
Article Tier 2

Evaluating Microplastic Pollution Along the Dubai Coast: An Empirical Model Combining On-Site Sampling and Sentinel-2 Remote Sensing Data

Researchers collected coastal water samples from Dubai and combined laboratory spectral measurements with Sentinel-2 satellite imagery to build a model that estimates microplastic concentrations from space. The model achieved an R² of 87% and was used to map microplastic pollution trends along the Dubai coast from 2018 to 2021. This remote-sensing approach demonstrates a scalable method for monitoring coastal microplastic pollution over large areas without intensive fieldwork.

2024 Journal of Sustainable Development of Energy Water and Environment Systems 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Automatic Detection and Identification of Floating Marine Debris Using Multispectral Satellite Imagery

Researchers developed a machine learning approach using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and extreme gradient boosting to automatically detect and distinguish floating plastic debris from other marine materials like driftwood and seaweed.

2023 IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Accurate detection of low concentrations of microplastics in soils via short-wave infrared hyperspectral imaging

Researchers combined short-wave infrared hyperspectral imaging with machine learning algorithms to detect low concentrations of polyamide and polyethylene microplastics in soil samples, achieving accurate classification with implications for fast, non-destructive screening of agricultural land for plastic contamination.

2025 Soil & Environmental Health 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification of potentially contaminated areas of soil microplastic based on machine learning: A case study in Taihu Lake region, China

Researchers applied machine learning models — including random forest and support vector regression — to predict the spatial distribution of soil microplastic pollution in China's Taihu Lake region, finding that soil texture, population density, and proximity to known plastic sources were the dominant drivers, with nearly half of urban soils showing serious contamination.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 43 citations
Article Tier 2

From mapping to modelling: the evolving multidimensional microplastic risks in China's farmlands

Researchers combined a national-scale soil survey with machine learning models to map and project microplastic risks across China's farmlands through 2050, finding that agricultural film use, population density, and GDP are key drivers, and that regional risk rankings will shift counter-intuitively depending on which socioeconomic development pathway is followed.

2026 Environmental Pollution
Article Tier 2

Hyperspectral estimation of mercury content of soil in Oasis city in arid zones of China

Researchers used hyperspectral remote sensing to develop a faster and cheaper method for estimating mercury contamination in soil near Urumqi, China. They tested multiple spectral transformation methods and found that certain approaches combined with machine learning models could accurately predict soil mercury levels. The technique offers a practical alternative to traditional laboratory-based soil testing for large-scale environmental monitoring.

2024 Geocarto International 4 citations
Article Tier 2

New Workflow of Plastic-Mulched Farmland Mapping using Multi-Temporal Sentinel-2 data

Researchers used multi-temporal satellite imagery to map plastic-mulched farmland in China, providing a tool for monitoring the environmental risk of agricultural plastic use. Plastic mulch is a significant source of microplastic contamination in agricultural soils when film residues break down over time.

2019 Remote Sensing 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Towards Detecting Floating Objects on a Global Scale with Learned Spatial Features Using Sentinel 2

Researchers developed a machine learning approach using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery to detect floating plastic debris and marine litter on a global scale, demonstrating that learned spatial features can improve detection of large aggregations of floating objects on water surfaces.

2021 ISPRS annals of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences 28 citations
Article Tier 2

The potentiality of GIS for assessing soil pollution – A review

Not relevant to microplastics — this review examines how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be applied to assess and map soil pollution from heavy metals, pesticides, and other contaminants, with no substantive microplastics content.

2023 International Journal of Agricultural and Applied Sciences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Detection of Waste Plastics in the Environment: Application of Copernicus Earth Observation data

Researchers used free Copernicus Earth observation satellite data and machine learning to detect waste plastic in marine and terrestrial environments at a large scale. The classifier was trained on Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data and performed well for detecting larger plastic accumulations. Satellite-based detection could enable continuous, wide-area monitoring of plastic pollution at a fraction of the cost of ground surveys.

2022 Preprints.org 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Study on detection method of microplastics in farmland soil based on hyperspectral imaging technology

Researchers developed a method using hyperspectral imaging and machine learning to rapidly detect and classify different types of microplastics in farmland soil. The technology achieved high accuracy in identifying common plastic types like polyethylene and polypropylene in soil samples. Better detection tools like this are essential for monitoring microplastic contamination in agricultural land and understanding its potential impact on food safety.

2023 Environmental Research 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic detection in arable soil using a 3D Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope coupled with a Machine-Learning Algorithm

Researchers applied 3D laser scanning confocal microscopy coupled with a machine-learning algorithm for automated detection and quantification of microplastics from LDPE and PP mulch films in arable soil, addressing the lack of accurate quantification methods for agricultural MP contamination from plastic mulching and sewage sludge.

2024
Article Tier 2

Remote sensing detection of plastic-mulched farmland using a temporal approach in machine learning: case study in tomato crops

Researchers tested machine learning classifiers on Sentinel-2 satellite time-series images to map plastic-mulched farmlands, achieving 99.7% accuracy using a multilayer perceptron model and demonstrating that a 3-image composite series reduces confusion with background vegetation — producing the first plastic mulch map for Latin America.

2024 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Targeting Plastics: Machine Learning Applied to Litter Detection in Aerial Multispectral Images

Researchers applied machine learning to aerial multispectral images for automated detection of plastic litter in natural areas, demonstrating that combining spectral data with classification algorithms can effectively identify and monitor plastic waste pollution.

2022 Remote Sensing 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparison of learning models to predict LDPE, PET, and ABS concentrations in beach sediment based on spectral reflectance

Researchers compared machine learning models to predict concentrations of LDPE, PET, and ABS microplastics in beach sediments using visible-near-infrared spectral reflectance, demonstrating that spectroscopic methods can efficiently estimate microplastic pollution in understudied terrestrial and coastal environments.

2023 Scientific Reports 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Efficient screening of microplastics in soils using hyperspectral imaging in the short-wave infrared range coupled with machine learning – A laboratory-based experiment

Researchers tested short-wave infrared hyperspectral imaging combined with machine learning to detect three types of microplastics in soil, finding it could identify elevated contamination but was not sensitive enough for typical environmental background levels. The technique shows most promise for screening heavily polluted sites like landfills and industrial areas.

2025 Ecological Indicators 8 citations