We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Papers
61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Physical processes behind interactions of microplastic particles with natural ice
ClearEntrainment and Enrichment of Microplastics in Ice Formation Processes: Implications for the Transport of Microplastics in Cold Regions
Researchers investigated how microplastic properties and environmental conditions affect their entrainment and enrichment during ice formation, finding that sea ice selectively concentrates microplastics and can serve as both a temporary sink and a transport medium in cold regions.
Distribution and impacts of microplastic incorporation within sea ice
Researchers experimentally incorporated microplastics into sea ice to investigate their distribution and impact on ice properties, finding that microplastics concentrate within sea ice at levels far exceeding surface seawater and that their presence alters the physical and optical properties of the ice.
Microplastics in sea ice: A fingerprint of bubble flotation
Researchers ran controlled laboratory experiments on ice formation from fresh and saltwater to understand how bubble flotation drives microplastic incorporation and concentration in sea ice, finding that bubbles entrain plastic particles during freezing and explain the unexpectedly high and compositionally distinct microplastic loads found in sea ice.
Distribution of microplastics between ice and water in aquatic systems: The influence of particle properties, salinity and freshwater characteristics
Laboratory freezing experiments showed that ice formation in both saltwater and freshwater captures microplastics, but the extent varies significantly with water chemistry, particle shape, and suspended solids — fiber-shaped particles were far less likely to be trapped in ice than fragments. In cold climates, ice can act as a seasonal reservoir that concentrates microplastics and then releases them in large pulses when it melts, making spring snowmelt a potentially significant delivery event for aquatic ecosystems. These findings are relevant for understanding microplastic dynamics in Arctic, subarctic, and temperate freshwater systems.
Micro- and nanoplastic transfer in freezing saltwater: implications for their fate in polar waters
Researchers investigated the fate of micro- and nanoplastics during sea-ice formation using a novel experimental system that simulated progressive saltwater freezing, measuring how plastics partition between ice and liquid phases and assessing implications for plastic accumulation and transport in Arctic environments.
Frazil Ice FormationCauses Divergent Levels of Microplasticand Nanoplastic Accumulation in Sea Ice
Researchers experimentally quantified micro- and nanoplastic enrichment by frazil ice formation, finding that high-density microplastic concentrations were approximately 2.97 times higher in sea ice than in underlying seawater, while nanoplastics showed divergent accumulation behavior based on particle size.
Frazil Ice FormationCauses Divergent Levels of Microplasticand Nanoplastic Accumulation in Sea Ice
Researchers experimentally quantified micro- and nanoplastic enrichment by frazil ice formation, finding that high-density microplastic concentrations were approximately 2.97 times higher in sea ice than in underlying seawater, while nanoplastics showed divergent accumulation behavior based on particle size.
Modeling the Accumulation and Transport of Microplastics by Sea Ice
Researchers used numerical modeling to examine how positively and neutrally buoyant microplastics accumulate in and are transported by Arctic and Southern Ocean sea ice, finding that sea ice acts as a significant seasonal reservoir and redistribution mechanism for microplastic pollution in polar regions.
Revealing the Freezing-Induced Alteration in Microplastic Behavior and Its Implication for the Microplastics Released from Seasonal Ice
Researchers revealed how freeze-thaw cycling alters microplastic behavior in environmental matrices, finding that freezing changes particle aggregation, surface properties, and transport dynamics with implications for polar and seasonally frozen environments.
Arctic sea ice is an important temporal sink and means of transport for microplastic
This study showed that Arctic sea ice acts as a significant temporary reservoir for microplastics, trapping particles that are then released when ice melts, making sea ice both a sink and a transport mechanism for microplastic pollution.
Vertical re-distribution of microplastics particles in sea ice due to cooling/warming cycles: A laboratory experiment
Researchers investigated how microplastic particles redistribute vertically within sea ice during cooling and warming cycles, identifying four relocation mechanisms including brine sinking, gas bubble flotation, brine density adjustment, and convective circulation. They found that the center of mass of polystyrene fragments shifted only a few millimeters per week in either direction, providing a quantitative baseline for modeling field contamination patterns.
Seasonal ice encapsulation: the pivotal influence on microplastic transport and fate in cold regions
This study examines how seasonal ice encapsulation influences the transport and fate of microplastics in cold regions, noting that the small size and stability of microplastics allow them to persist even in remote environments including the Arctic and Antarctic. The authors analyze how freeze-thaw cycles and ice dynamics play a pivotal role in controlling microplastic distribution in these ecosystems.
Snowballing Impactof Spontaneously Degrading Microplasticson Atmospheric Ice Nucleation
Researchers demonstrated that as microplastics degrade in the environment they become smaller and more porous, dramatically enhancing their ice-nucleating activity. Global airborne microplastic data integrated with climate modelling suggested that this progressive degradation could alter precipitation patterns and atmospheric chemistry at a meaningful scale.
Microplastics affect marine snow formation and sinking to the ocean's interior
Researchers conducted laboratory and onboard ship incubations to investigate how microplastics influence marine snow formation and sinking behavior, finding that microplastics significantly enhanced aggregate formation by providing hydrophobic interfaces that promote adhesion with organic matter, with polymer density and morphology modulating aggregate sinking rates.
Global warming releases microplastic legacy frozen in Arctic Sea ice
Researchers demonstrated that Arctic sea ice stores a legacy microplastic burden accumulated over decades, and that accelerating sea ice melt from global warming will increasingly release these stored plastics back into the ocean.
Microplastic particles contain ice nucleation sites that can be inhibited by atmospheric aging
Researchers found that microplastic particles contain ice nucleation sites that promote atmospheric ice formation and that atmospheric organic molecules can inhibit this nucleation activity, with implications for cloud formation and climate effects.
Frazil Ice Formation Causes Divergent Levels of Microplastic and Nanoplastic Accumulation in Sea Ice
Researchers used laboratory experiments to directly test for the first time whether frazil ice — the tiny ice crystals that form at the ocean surface in polar regions — concentrates microplastics and nanoplastics as it forms. They found that microplastics were enriched nearly three times in the ice relative to the underlying seawater, consistent with field observations of high microplastic levels in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice. Nanoplastics, however, behaved more like salt ions and were actually excluded from the bulk ice, potentially concentrating instead in the briny pockets where polar microorganisms live. This distinction between how micro- and nanoplastics behave in polar ice has important implications for understanding their ecological impact in polar food webs.
Nanoplastics Distribution during Ice Formation: Insights into Natural Surface Water Freezing Conditions
Laboratory experiments simulating natural surface water freezing found that nanoplastics were excluded from forming ice and concentrated in unfrozen water regions, with a new local distribution coefficient developed to better characterize nanoplastic behavior during freeze-thaw cycles.
Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation of Microplastics before and after Oxidation
Researchers investigated heterogeneous ice nucleation induced by seven morphologies of polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyethylene terephthalate microplastics in immersion freezing mode, and examined how atmospheric oxidation affects their ice-nucleating efficiency and potential influence on cloud formation.
Microplastic Particles and Fibers in Seasonal Ice of the Northern Baltic Sea
This study characterized microplastic particles and fibers in seasonal ice samples from the northern Baltic Sea, finding that ice acts as a seasonal reservoir that concentrates and then releases microplastics upon melting.
Interactions between the ice algae Fragillariopsis cylindrus and microplastics in sea ice
Researchers investigated interactions between the ice algae Fragilariopsis cylindrus and microplastic beads in sea ice formation experiments, finding that salinity -- not algal presence -- was the primary driver of microplastic incorporation into ice. With sea ice already present, fewer algal cells colonized ice when microplastics were also present, though microplastics did not inhibit algal colonization during the ice-formation process itself.
Snowballing Impact of Spontaneously Degrading Microplastics on Atmospheric Ice Nucleation
Researchers demonstrated that as microplastics degrade in the environment, they become increasingly effective at promoting ice formation in the atmosphere, which could alter precipitation patterns. The degradation process creates smaller particles with surface features that significantly boost ice-nucleating activity. The study suggests that the growing presence of degrading microplastics in the atmosphere may have underappreciated effects on weather and climate.
Microplastic particles contain ice nucleation sites that can be deactivated by atmospheric aging
Researchers found that microplastics can act as ice nucleation sites that trigger cloud glaciation, but that atmospheric aging processes such as UV exposure and chemical weathering can deactivate these ice nucleation properties, with implications for cloud formation and climate.
Investigating the ice nucleation activity of microplastics colonized with microorganisms
Researchers investigated whether microplastics colonized by microorganisms show increased ice nucleation activity compared to uncolonized particles. The study found that weathering and microbial colonization can alter microplastic surface properties in ways relevant to atmospheric processes.