Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Seasonal variation observed in microplastic deposition rates in boreal lake sediments

Researchers used sediment traps to monitor microplastic deposition rates in a boreal lake over one year across different seasons. The study found that microplastic flux was highest during the growing season and lowest during winter when ice and snow cover limited transport, with a snow disposal site receiving urban snow showing the highest annual deposition rate of 2,300 items per square meter.

2023 Journal of Soils and Sediments 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Modeling the transport and residence time of microplastic particles in lakes and reservoirs

This study developed and validated a model for simulating the transport and residence time of microplastic particles in lakes and reservoirs, showing that hydrodynamic factors, particle density, and lake morphology together determine where microplastics accumulate.

2024
Article Tier 2

Sediment trapping – An attempt to monitor temporal variation of microplastic flux rates in aquatic systems

Researchers tested sediment trapping as a tool to monitor temporal variation in microplastic influx in an urban boreal lake, conducting a one-year monitoring program that revealed differences in microplastic flux rates between growing season and winter periods including a spring flood event.

2021 Environmental Pollution 42 citations
Article Tier 2

Modeling three-dimensional microplastic transport and sedimentation in lakes and reservoirs

Researchers used 3D hydrodynamic modeling to simulate microplastic transport, residence time, and sedimentation patterns in lakes and reservoirs. The models showed that bathymetry and inlet-outlet flow patterns strongly control where microplastics accumulate on lake beds.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
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

Measurement of microplastic settling velocities and implications for residence times in thermally stratified lakes

Settling velocities were measured experimentally for pristine and biofilm-colonized microplastic particles and combined with thermal stratification models to estimate plastic residence times in lakes. Biofilm colonization significantly increased settling rates, suggesting that particles can sink from surface waters to lake sediments much faster than their density alone would predict.

2022 Limnology and Oceanography 64 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantifying microplastic residence times in lakes using mesocosm experiments and transport modelling

Mesocosm experiments in a 12x3 meter lake combined with a 1D random walk transport model showed that microplastic residence time in lake water columns is governed primarily by particle size and seasonal thermal stratification, with smaller particles persisting significantly longer. The study provides the first empirical lake-scale data to parameterize microplastic transport models relevant to organism exposure assessment.

2022 Water Research 47 citations
Article Tier 2

Systematic Evaluation of Physical Parameters Affecting the Terminal Settling Velocity of Microplastic Particles in Lakes Using CFD

Researchers used computational fluid dynamics to systematically evaluate how physical parameters including size, shape, density, and surface roughness affect microplastic settling velocity in lakes, finding that particle shape and density are the most influential factors determining residence time.

2022 Frontiers in Environmental Science 25 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantifying microplastic residence times in lakes using mesocosm experiments and 1D random walk model

Researchers combined in-lake mesocosm experiments with 1D random walk modeling to quantify microplastic residence times across three size fractions (1-5, 28-48, and 53-63 micrometers) in a 12 m deep lake, measuring residence times of 1-24 days during summer stratification and autumn turnover periods over one year.

2024
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

Influence of seasonal hydrodynamic variations and particle interactions on microplastic particle settling in water columns

Researchers modeled and experimentally measured how microplastic particle settling in water columns is influenced by seasonal hydrodynamic variations—including thermal stratification and turbulence—and by interactions between co-settling particles. Results showed that thermal stratification dramatically slows settling velocity and that particle-particle interactions further alter settling dynamics, with implications for predicting microplastic accumulation zones in lakes.

2025
Article Tier 2

The Fate of Microplastics in Rural Headwater Lake Catchments

Researchers quantified microplastic fluxes over 12 months in three rural headwater lake catchments in Ontario, Canada, using a novel particle balance approach. They found that atmospheric deposition was the dominant source of microplastics entering these remote lakes, and they provided the first observation-based estimates of microplastic residence time in freshwater lakes. The study reveals that even rural areas far from urban centers receive significant microplastic inputs from the atmosphere.

2024 Environmental Science & Technology 13 citations
Article Tier 2

An experimental study on microplastic settling velocities in different water environments: Which factors shape the settling process?

Researchers experimentally investigated how biofilm formation and weathering processes affect the settling velocities of microplastics across different water matrices, identifying the key physical and biological factors shaping how particles sink in aquatic environments.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin
Article Tier 2

Tracing the journey of microplastics in lake from surface water to accumulation in the sediments

Researchers conducted a comprehensive seasonal monitoring study of microplastics in an urban lake in Latvia, tracking distribution in surface water, measuring sediment deposition rates over one year, and analyzing dated sediment archives to determine which environmental compartment best represents long-term microplastic pollution trends. The study aimed to identify the most suitable monitoring matrix and establish standardized sampling protocols for freshwater microplastic research.

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

Where Is All the Plastic? How Microplastic Partitions across Environmental Compartments within a Large Pelagic In-Lake Mesocosm

Researchers tracked how microplastic fragments of varying buoyancy partition among water column, sediment, and surface film compartments in an experimental aquatic system, finding that particle density and biofouling strongly determine where MPs ultimately accumulate in the environment.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Atmospheric Deposition Of Microplastics Recorded In Icelandic Lake Sediments: Estimating Microplastic Fluxes Using Short Sediment Cores

Researchers sampled sediment cores from six remote Icelandic crater lakes to estimate atmospheric microplastic deposition flux rates, finding that Iceland's position within major oceanic currents and weather patterns makes it a sentinel site for studying long-range Arctic-bound microplastic transport.

2025
Article Tier 2

Biofilm growth on buoyant microplastics leads to changes in settling rates: Implications for microplastic retention in the Great Lakes

Researchers measured biofilm-induced density changes and sinking rates for buoyant polyethylene microplastics in Great Lakes water, finding that biofouling caused particles to sink within days to weeks, with implications for predicting where microplastics accumulate in large lake systems.

2021 Marine Pollution Bulletin 118 citations
Article Tier 2

Systematic CFD-based evaluation of physical factors influencing the spatiotemporal distribution patterns of microplastic particles in lakes

Researchers used computational fluid dynamics simulations to systematically evaluate how lake depth, bathymetry, wind, temperature, particle size, and release conditions influence microplastic distribution patterns in lakes. Maximum depth had the strongest effect on residence time in the water column, followed by particle size, with 10-micrometer particles remaining suspended for nearly a month in deep thermally stratified lakes.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in lakeshore and lakebed sediments – External influences and temporal and spatial variabilities of concentrations

This study examined spatial and temporal variation in microplastic concentrations in lakeshore and lakebed sediments, finding that external inputs, lake hydrodynamics, and seasonal factors all contributed to heterogeneous distribution patterns.

2021 Environmental Research 69 citations