Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

A critical review of environmental factors influencing the transport dynamics of microplastics in riverine systems: implications for ecological studies

This review examines how environmental factors like river flow, channel shape, vegetation, and sediment influence where microplastics accumulate and how they travel through river systems. The authors found that microplastic transport is far more complex than previously assumed, with particles behaving differently based on their size, shape, and density. Understanding these dynamics is essential for predicting where microplastics end up and designing effective cleanup strategies.

2023 Aquatic Ecology 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of Physical Characteristics and Hydrodynamic Conditions on Transport and Deposition of Microplastics in Riverine Ecosystem

This review examined how microplastic physical characteristics like density, shape, and size interact with hydrodynamic conditions to govern their transport and deposition patterns in riverine ecosystems, highlighting key processes that determine where plastics accumulate.

2021 Water 235 citations
Article Tier 2

Making waves: Unraveling microplastic deposition in rivers through the lens of sedimentary processes

Researchers examined how sedimentary processes in rivers control where microplastics are deposited and how long they remain buried. They reviewed existing work on water-sediment exchange of microplastic particles and identified key gaps in understanding deposition dynamics. The study highlights that rivers serve as major pathways for transporting microplastics from land to oceans, and that sediment processes play a critical role in determining their fate.

2024 Water Research 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Flocs as vectors for microplastics in the aquatic environment

Researchers combined analysis of over 6,000 measurements to show that small microplastics under 162 micrometers (about the width of two human hairs) are predominantly transported through waterways while clumped together in "flocs" — aggregates of particles and organic matter — rather than drifting freely. This insight is critical for predicting where microplastics will end up in rivers, lakes, and oceans.

2024 Nature Water 35 citations
Article Tier 2

The role of biofilm and hydrodynamics on the fate of microplastic particles in rivers: an experimental study

Researchers conducted flume and field experiments to examine how biofilm formation and hydrodynamic conditions govern the fate of microplastic particles in rivers, investigating why some MP-polluted rivers crossing industrialized areas show no significant upstream-to-downstream concentration differences. The study identified biofilm-mediated density changes and turbulence as key factors controlling whether low-density MPs remain suspended or settle into sediments.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

The Complex Dynamics of Microplastic Migration through Different Aquatic Environments: Subsidies for a Better Understanding of Its Environmental Dispersion

This review explores how microplastics move through different aquatic environments, from rivers and lakes to estuaries and oceans, focusing on the physical properties that drive their transport. Researchers found that factors like particle density, size, shape, and biofouling all influence where microplastics accumulate and how far they travel. Understanding these migration dynamics is essential for predicting contamination patterns and designing effective cleanup strategies.

2023 Microplastics 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Leveraging Sedimentary Process Insights to Enhance Understanding of Microplastic Deposition in Rivers

This review leverages insights from fluvial sediment transport research to improve understanding of how microplastics deposit and are buried in river networks, identifying knowledge gaps in water-sediment exchange processes and highlighting that current MP deposition estimates are biased by incomplete understanding of flow-sediment-particle interactions.

2025
Article Tier 2

The role of biofilm and hydrodynamics on the fate of microplastic particles in rivers: an experimental study

Researchers conducted experimental flume studies to investigate how biofilm formation and hydrodynamic conditions jointly govern microplastic particle fate in rivers, examining why some urbanized and industrialized river reaches show no significant upstream-to-downstream increase in microplastic concentration despite theoretical inputs.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in freshwater systems: Dynamic behaviour and transport processes

This review examines how microplastics move through freshwater systems like rivers and lakes on their way to the ocean. The behavior of these particles, including whether they sink, float, or clump together, depends on their size, shape, and density, which constantly change as the plastics weather and interact with organisms. Understanding these transport processes is critical because freshwater systems are a major pathway for microplastic pollution that eventually affects drinking water and aquatic food sources.

2024 Resources Conservation and Recycling 165 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport dynamics of microplastics from land to sea: the role of particle properties and stream morphology.

Researchers measured how particle properties including size, density, and polymer type interact with stream morphology to determine microplastic transport distances in 15 streams. Both plastic characteristics and stream structure independently influenced how far microplastics travel before settling, with implications for estimating fluxes to the ocean.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

How do microplastics interact with other particles in aquatic environments?

This study investigates how microplastics interact with other particles in aquatic environments, examining the physical and chemical mechanisms governing aggregation, adsorption, and co-transport of microplastics with suspended particles. The research is hosted on the Experiment platform for open scientific discovery funding and sharing.

2024
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Pathways: Investigating Vertical and Horizontal Movement from Riverine Environments to Oceans

Researchers investigated the vertical and horizontal movement of microplastics in riverine systems en route to the ocean, examining how physical MP characteristics and hydrodynamic conditions govern whether particles settle near riverbeds or float at the surface, and how both gravity-driven and flow-driven transport contribute to their ultimate fate.

2025
Article Tier 2

Transport dynamics of microplastics from land to sea: the role of particle properties and stream morphology.

Researchers used the nutrient spiraling technique to measure how quickly microplastics of different sizes, densities, and polymer types travel and settle in 15 streams with varying levels of human modification. Particle properties and stream geomorphology both significantly influenced transport distances and deposition velocities.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

The transport behaviour of microplastics in longitudinal mixing and hyporheic exchange under varied flow conditions

Researchers studied how microplastics move through river systems, examining both downstream transport and how particles interact with riverbeds through hyporheic exchange. Understanding these transport behaviors helps predict where microplastics accumulate in river sediments.

2019 DR-NTU (Nanyang Technological University)
Article Tier 2

Exploring the influence of sediment motion on microplastic deposition in streambeds

This study systematically explored how sediment motion affects microplastic deposition in streambeds made of fine sediments, finding that sediment transport dynamics play a critical role in controlling where microplastics accumulate. The results improve understanding of microplastic fate in riverine systems.

2023 Water Research 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic and natural sediment in bed load saltation: Material does not dictate the fate

Researchers investigated how microplastics move as bed load in river flows and found that transport behavior in saltation was governed primarily by particle size, shape, and density rather than material composition, suggesting that microplastics follow similar transport mechanics as natural sediment.

2023 Water Research 44 citations
Article Tier 2

The impact of riverine particles on the vertical velocities of large microplastics

This study examined how suspended sediment particles in rivers interact with larger microplastics (1-5 mm) and affect their sinking velocities, finding that heteroaggregation with riverine particles significantly alters microplastic vertical transport behavior.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Longitudinal and Vertical Transport of Microplastic Within Sediment in Rivers and Transitional Water Environments

Researchers investigated the longitudinal and vertical transport of microplastics within sediments in rivers and transitional water environments, developing models to quantify how sediment presence affects microplastic mobility and their transport toward coastal areas.

2025 Florence Research (University of Florence)
Article Tier 2

Behavior of Microplastics in Inland Waters: Aggregation, Settlement, and Transport

This review examined how microplastics aggregate, settle, and are transported horizontally in inland waters, covering the influence of particle properties (size, density, shape) and environmental factors (microorganisms, hydraulic conditions, sediment characteristics) on their fate.

2021 Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 154 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Aquatic Environments: Aggregation, Deposition, and Enhanced Contaminant Transport

This review examined the aggregation, deposition, and transport of microplastics and nanoplastics in aquatic environments, synthesizing how particle properties and water chemistry govern their fate and mobility in rivers, lakes, and oceans.

2017 Environmental Science & Technology 2491 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic distribution and their abundance along rivers are determined by land uses and sediment granulometry

Researchers studied two river watersheds and found that microplastics were widespread in both water and sediment, with concentrations in water rising alongside increased urban land use. Interestingly, microplastics trapped in sediment were more influenced by the grain size of the riverbed than by human activity. The findings suggest that both human factors and natural river characteristics work together to shape where microplastics end up in freshwater systems.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Disentangling the retention preferences of estuarine suspended particulate matter for diverse microplastic types

Researchers used computer simulations to model how 16 different types of microplastics travel through the Yangtze River estuary in China. They found that lightweight, small-diameter fiber microplastics are most likely to clump together with suspended sediment, while heavier particles move more independently. The study reveals that turbid zones where river water meets the sea act as hotspots for microplastic accumulation.

2024 Environmental Pollution 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the Sensitivity of Microplastic Accumulation Zones in Rivers Using High-Performance Particle Transport Modelling

Researchers applied high-performance particle transport modelling to explore the sensitivity of microplastic accumulation zones in rivers, identifying key hydrodynamic factors that govern where microplastics concentrate. The modelling approach provides a tool for predicting hotspot areas of microplastic deposition in fluvial environments.

2025
Article Tier 2

Flocculation and its impact on microplastic transport mechanisms in rivers

Researchers used rotating wheel laboratory experiments to investigate microplastic-sediment flocculation mechanisms in rivers, finding that fine cohesive sediments adhere to MP particles to form aggregates that modify transport behaviour and enhance deposition, contributing to MP accumulation in riverine sedimentary deposits.

2025