Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Transport and sedimentation of microplastics by turbidity currents: Dependence on suspended sediment concentration and grain size

Researchers used laboratory experiments to study how turbidity currents, underwater flows of sediment-laden water, transport and deposit microplastics on the ocean floor. They found that higher sediment concentrations carried microplastics farther, and finer sediment grains enhanced transport distances compared to coarser ones. The findings suggest that both the properties of the sediment flow and the shape and density of microplastic particles play important roles in determining where plastics end up in marine sediments.

2025 Environment International 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic trapping in sandy bedload: insights from flume experiments

Researchers conducted flume experiments to investigate the mechanisms controlling microplastic trapping in sandy bedload sediments, examining how particles of different sizes and densities become buried within ripple structures formed by unidirectional tractional flows. The study provided insights into riverine microplastic sedimentation dynamics relevant to understanding transient storage during land-to-ocean transport.

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

Microplastic trapping in sandy bedload: insights from flume experiments

Researchers conducted flume experiments using a 4-metre channel to investigate how microplastic particles become trapped within sandy bedload ripples formed by unidirectional water flows, examining interactions between microplastics and inorganic sediment particles under controlled depositional conditions. The findings provide mechanistic insights into how microplastics are temporarily stored in riverine sediments during their transfer from land to ocean.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
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

A transport mechanism for deep-sea microplastics: Hydroplaning of clay-laden sediment gravity flows

Researchers used laboratory flume experiments to show that clay-laden sediment gravity flows can transport microplastics to deep-sea environments via hydroplaning, a mechanism distinct from sand-laden flows and capable of carrying particles much further into the ocean interior.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Tracking of Small Discrete Objects Submerged in Surf and Swash Zones on Sand Beaches

Experiments in a wave flume tracked how microplastics and gravel move in surf and swash zones on beaches, finding that particle shape and size significantly affect how far they travel. The study improves predictions of where microplastic pollution accumulates on shorelines.

2023 Journal of Waterway Port Coastal and Ocean Engineering 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Flume experiments on transport and deposition behavior of microplastics in sediment bed environments

Researchers ran 42 flume experiments with three model sediments and spherical microplastics of varying size and density, finding that deposition depth is governed by sediment porosity and the grain-to-particle diameter ratio, while transport is primarily controlled by particle density and initial placement, providing data to improve MP mass balance models.

2026 The Science of The Total Environment
Article Tier 2

Transport and retention of micro-polystyrene in coarse riverbed sediments: effects of flow velocity, particle and sediment sizes

Researchers conducted column experiments to investigate how polystyrene microplastic fragments are transported and retained in coarse riverbed sediments under different flow conditions. They found that most particles were captured in the upper 15-20 centimeters of sediment, but smaller fragments between 100-500 micrometers could penetrate to depths of at least 50 centimeters. The study suggests that riverbeds can act as both temporary sinks and long-term retention sites for microplastics, slowing their transport from streams to oceans.

2024 Microplastics and Nanoplastics 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Trapped microplastics within vertical redeposited sediment: Experimental study simulating lake and channeled river systems during resuspension events

Researchers simulated sediment resuspension events to study how microplastics of different densities, sizes, and shapes become trapped within redeposited sediment layers, finding that particle properties strongly influence vertical redistribution patterns in lake and river systems.

2023 Environmental Pollution 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Experimental Study of Microplastic Particle Transport Around Sea Gravel in Waves Plus Current Conditions

Researchers conducted experimental studies of microplastic particle transport around sea gravel under combined wave and current conditions, extending prior work on non-buoyant particles to characterize how gravel bed roughness and hydrodynamic forces govern microplastic accumulation hotspots.

2025 Coastal Engineering Proceedings
Article Tier 2

Experimental Study on the Incipient Motion of Microplastic Particles with Different Shapes, Sizes, and Densities on a Live Sediment Bed

Researchers experimentally determined the conditions under which 65 groups of microplastic particles of varying shapes, sizes, and densities begin to move on a sediment bed, finding that after accounting for friction differences and hiding effects, microplastic motion follows the classical Shields curve used for natural sediment transport.

2023
Article Tier 2

Experimental study of non-buoyant microplastic transport beneath breaking irregular waves on a live sediment bed

Researchers conducted wave-flume experiments showing that non-buoyant microplastics are transported shoreward under breaking irregular waves, with their cross-shore distribution influenced by wave energy, particle density, and sediment bed dynamics.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 37 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

Incipient Motion of Exposed Microplastics in an Open-Channel Flow

Researchers experimentally determined the conditions needed to initiate microplastic movement in open-channel water flows, finding that standard sediment transport thresholds do not apply to microplastics and proposing a new predictive formula that reduces error from 55.6% to 12.3%.

2022 Environmental Science & Technology 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Laboratory Study of Non-buoyant Microplastic Transport Beneath Breaking Irregular Waves on a Live Sediment Bed

Researchers conducted wave flume experiments to map where non-buoyant microplastic particles accumulate under breaking waves on a sandy seabed, identifying four distinct hotspots — from offshore bars to beaches — and finding that particle density, shape, and position relative to breaking waves are the key drivers of transport direction.

2023
Article Tier 2

Continuous Near-Bed Movements of Microplastics in Open Channel Flows: Statistical Analysis

Particle tracking velocimetry experiments in a laboratory flume showed that near-bed microplastic transport in open channels follows a normal streamwise velocity distribution, with transport behavior varying significantly by particle type and hydraulic conditions.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Wave-induced cross-shore distribution of different densities, shapes, and sizes of plastic debris in coastal environments: A laboratory experiment

Researchers conducted laboratory experiments to understand how wave-induced currents sort and transport plastic debris of different densities, shapes, and sizes across coastal environments, revealing distinct cross-shore distribution patterns.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic beaching dependence on sediment grain size

Researchers sampled microplastics across a Mediterranean protected beach and found that accumulation is strongly influenced by sediment grain size — fine-grained sands trap more surface microplastics due to lower infiltration capacity — while fiber shape promotes entanglement in sediment pores and proximity to tourism and port activities drives spatial pollution hotspots.

2026 Frontiers in Water
Article Tier 2

Investigations on microplastic infiltration within natural riverbed sediments

Researchers used laboratory flume experiments to investigate how sediment grain size affects the infiltration of four types of microplastics (PET spheres, PET ellipsoids, polystyrene fragments, and polyamide fibers) into riverbed sediments. Sediment particle size, microplastic shape, and density were key factors controlling how deeply microplastics penetrate into the hyporheic zone.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Bedload transport rates of microplastics on natural sediments under open channel flow: The role of exposure in acceleration

Researchers developed a new model for predicting how microplastics are transported as bedload in rivers, combining computational fluid dynamics with laboratory experiments. They found that exposed microplastics on the sediment surface move at higher transport rates than natural sediment particles of similar size, potentially spreading contamination over wider areas. The model provides a practical tool for engineers assessing how microplastic pollution disperses through waterway systems.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding how sediment movement affects microplastic deposition in sandy streambeds: A modeling study.

Researchers used a numerical model of flow and particle transport in moving streambed sediment to quantify how streambed motion affects microplastic deposition and accumulation, running simulations across streamwater velocities of 0.1-0.5 m/s and varying median grain sizes to examine MPs of all sizes and densities.

2024
Article Tier 2

The effects of stream water velocity, streambed celerity, and particle properties on microplastic deposition in streams

Researchers conducted laboratory flume experiments to examine how stream water velocity, bedform movement, and microplastic particle properties (material type PET/PP/PA and fiber length 25-200 µm) influence the deposition dynamics of microplastics in sandy streambeds, finding that bedform movement and particle characteristics significantly affected deposition rates and sediment distribution patterns.

2022
Article Tier 2

Relationships between sediment size distribution and microplastic abundance and characteristics along the strandline of a sandy embayment (Whitsand, Southwest England)

Researchers analyzed the relationship between sediment characteristics and microplastic distribution along a beach in southwest England. They found that microplastic abundance and type varied significantly across the strandline, with larger microplastics being more prevalent in coarser sediments. The study provides evidence that local sediment dynamics play an important role in determining where microplastics accumulate on sandy beaches.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanism comparisons of transport-deposition-reentrainment between microplastics and natural mineral particles in porous media: A theoretical and experimental study

Researchers compared the transport, deposition, and re-entrainment behavior of microplastic particles versus natural mineral particles in porous media, finding key differences driven by density, surface charge, and shape that affect how microplastics migrate through soils and sediments.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 30 citations