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Papers
20 resultsShowing papers similar to Particle properties and environmental factors control atmospheric transport and deposition of micro- and nanoplastics
ClearShape Matters: Long-Range Transport of Microplastic Fibers in the Atmosphere
Researchers used atmospheric modeling to explain how microplastic fibers can travel long distances through the air, even reaching remote locations far from population centers. They found that the elongated shape of fibers gives them significantly different aerodynamic properties than spherical particles, allowing them to stay airborne much longer. The study helps explain why microplastics have been detected in pristine environments like mountain peaks and polar regions.
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.
Long-distance atmospheric transport of microplastic fibers depends on their shapes
Researchers developed a theory-based settling velocity model for microplastic fibers in the atmosphere that accounts for fiber shape and cross-sectional dimensions, finding that correctly characterising flat fibers rather than treating them as cylinders increases estimated mean atmospheric residence time by over 450%, suggesting the ocean is a major source of airborne plastic and that long-range transport is far more efficient than previously thought.
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.
Long-distance atmospheric transport of microplastic fibers depends on their shapes
This study investigated how the shape of microplastic fibers affects how far they travel through the atmosphere. Long, thin fibers stay airborne longer and can be transported greater distances than compact fragments, explaining why synthetic textile fibers are so widely found in remote environments.
Modelling the effect of shape on atmospheric microplastic transport
Using atmospheric transport modeling, researchers showed that the shape of microplastic particles significantly affects how far they travel through the air. Long fibers can spread over a 32% larger area than spherical particles of the same size, and shape matters most for particles larger than 6 micrometers. Since particles in the 6 to 10 micrometer range can reach deep into human lungs, accurately accounting for shape is important for predicting where airborne microplastics end up and who might be breathing them in.
Microplastic shape affects travel distance
Researchers found that microplastic shape significantly influences atmospheric transport distance, with fibre and complex-shaped particles travelling farther than spherical ones assumed in most models, helping explain the detection of microplastics in remote locations such as Antarctica and Mount Fuji.
A mechanistic approach to evaluating atmospheric deposition of micro- and nanoplastic particles
This study developed a theoretical framework to better understand how microplastic and nanoplastic particles move through the atmosphere and deposit onto land and water surfaces via wet and dry deposition. By drawing on knowledge from how other aerosols like mineral dust behave, the researchers identified key physical processes — including particle size, shape, and density — that govern how far microplastics travel and where they land. The work is important for modeling the global spread of microplastic pollution, including to remote regions far from pollution sources.
Modeling the Gravitational Settling of Microplastic Fibers in the Atmosphere
Researchers developed and applied a model for gravitational settling of microplastic fibers in the atmosphere, examining how fiber shape and size influence atmospheric residence time and deposition patterns to better understand the global atmospheric transport cycle of microplastics.
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.
Exploring the Transport Path of Oceanic Microplastics in the Atmosphere
Researchers used computer modeling to estimate how microplastics are launched from the ocean surface into the atmosphere and transported around the globe. They identified tropical ocean regions as major emission hotspots and found that tiny plastic particles can travel efficiently through the atmosphere and even reach the stratosphere, where they may linger for months. The study suggests that current estimates of ocean surface microplastic concentrations may be one to two orders of magnitude too low.
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.
A Review of Atmospheric Micro/Nanoplastics: Insights into Source and Fate for Modelling Studies
This review synthesizes current knowledge on sources, atmospheric transport, and environmental fate of micro- and nanoplastics in the atmosphere, identifying key knowledge gaps including the long-range transport potential, dry and wet deposition rates, and health implications of inhaled airborne plastic particles.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Efficient Atmospheric Transport of Microplastics over Asia and Adjacent Oceans
Researchers developed an atmospheric transport model for microplastics over Asia, estimating annual emissions of 310 gigagrams and finding that atmospheric transport efficiently carries microplastics from land sources to remote ocean regions across the Pacific and Indian oceans.
Atmospheric transport of microplastic particles as a function of their size and shape
Researchers investigated the atmospheric transport and settling of microplastic particles as a function of size and shape, implementing a shape-correction parameterization for fiber-shaped particles in an atmospheric transport model to better represent their reduced gravitational settling velocity compared to spheres. The study showed that non-spherical fibers experience greater atmospheric drag, increasing their residence time and transport distance, and that including shape effects improved agreement between model output and ground-based measurements.
Atmospheric transport is a major pathway of microplastics to remote regions
Using global atmospheric transport simulations, researchers modeled the dispersal of tire wear particles and brake dust from roads, finding that atmospheric transport is a major — and previously underestimated — pathway delivering microplastics to remote regions far from traffic sources.