Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Microplastics Across Interconnected Aquatic Matrices: A Comparative Study of Marine, Riverine, and Wastewater Matrices in Northern Greece

Researchers studied tiny plastic particles (microplastics) in seawater, rivers, and wastewater treatment plants in Northern Greece to see how much plastic pollution exists in the region's water systems. They developed a reliable method to measure these microscopic plastic pieces, which can enter our food chain through seafood and drinking water. This baseline data will help authorities track plastic pollution levels and develop strategies to reduce microplastics in water that could eventually affect human health.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Knowledge about Microplastic in Mediterranean Tributary River Ecosystems: Lack of Data and Research Needs on Such a Crucial Marine Pollution Source

This review surveys the limited literature on microplastic pollution in freshwater rivers feeding the Mediterranean Sea, finding major gaps in data and inconsistent methods. The authors call for standardized monitoring protocols to better understand how rivers transport microplastics from land to the ocean.

2020 Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 42 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Across Interconnected Aquatic Matrices: A Comparative Study of Marine, Riverine, and Wastewater Matrices in Northern Greece

This study provided the first comprehensive evaluation of microplastics across three interconnected aquatic matrices—seawater, river water, and wastewater—in northern Greece. MP concentrations were highest in wastewater and decreased downstream, with fibres dominating all matrices, confirming wastewater as a primary MP source to receiving waters.

2026 Applied Sciences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Riverine Microplastic Loading to Mersin Bay, Turkey on the North-eastern Mediterranean

Researchers characterized microplastics in eight rivers discharging into Mersin Bay in the northeastern Mediterranean, finding fibres dominated at 83.5% of particles and calculating a total load of approximately 1,200 billion particles delivered to the bay. Microplastic characteristics in the rivers closely matched those previously documented in the marine environment of Mersin Bay.

2022 Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Across Interconnected Aquatic Matrices: A Comparative Study of Marine, Riverine, and Wastewater Matrices in Northern Greece

Scientists studied tiny plastic particles (microplastics) in seawater, rivers, and wastewater treatment plants in Northern Greece to understand how much plastic pollution exists in the region's water systems. They developed a reliable method to measure these microscopic plastic pieces and established baseline pollution levels that can help authorities create better strategies to reduce plastic contamination. This matters because microplastics can enter our drinking water and food chain, and understanding where they're most concentrated helps protect both environmental and human health.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Impact of coastal wastewater treatment plants on microplastic pollution in surface seawater and ecological risk assessment

Microplastics were sampled at nine stations along the southern coast of Istanbul's Bosphorus to assess the influence of nearby wastewater treatment plant discharges on surface seawater contamination. Treatment plant outfalls were confirmed as localized hotspots, with ecological risk highest near discharge points.

2022 Environmental Pollution 63 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics composition and load from three wastewater treatment plants discharging into Mersin Bay, north eastern Mediterranean Sea

Three wastewater treatment plants discharging into Mersin Bay in the northeastern Mediterranean were found to release significant loads of microplastics into coastal waters, with fibers and fragments as the dominant forms. The study quantifies WWTPs as a measurable source of ongoing microplastic input to Mediterranean marine ecosystems.

2019 Marine Pollution Bulletin 206 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro- and mesoplastics in Northeast Levantine coast of Turkey: The preliminary results from surface samples

Researchers conducted the first microplastic survey of the northeastern Levantine coast of Turkey in Iskenderun and Mersin Bays, measuring an average of 0.376 items/m² at the sea surface, with the highest concentrations near a river mouth, at levels comparable to other Mediterranean regions.

2017 Marine Pollution Bulletin 141 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatio-temporal distribution of microplastics in a Mediterranean river catchment: The importance of wastewater as an environmental pathway

Microplastic concentrations were mapped across a Mediterranean river catchment in central Spain over multiple seasons, finding that wastewater treatment plant effluents were the dominant point source and that storm events transiently increased concentrations in downstream reaches by mobilizing accumulated particles from river beds and floodplains.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 97 citations
Article Tier 2

Analysis of microplastic flux from the Gediz River to the Aegean Sea: A modeling study for environmental management

This modeling study developed and calibrated a mathematical model to simulate microplastic fate and transport in the Gediz River Basin in Turkey, finding significant contamination even in upstream reaches despite much lower flow rates, and evaluating several management scenarios to reduce microplastic discharge to the Aegean Sea.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in two remote rivers of Türkiye

Researchers documented microplastic pollution in two remote rivers of Turkey, finding that even waterways far from major urban centers contain significant microplastic contamination, highlighting the widespread reach of plastic pollution in freshwater ecosystems.

2023 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in municipal wastewater treatment plants in Turkey: a comparison of the influent and secondary effluent concentrations

Microplastics were detected in both influent and secondary effluent at two wastewater treatment plants in Turkey, with fibers as the predominant type in both streams. The study confirms that Turkish wastewater systems discharge substantial numbers of microplastic particles into receiving waters, consistent with findings from other countries.

2018 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 275 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatio-temporal distribution of microplastic abundances in Izmir Bay (eastern Aegean Sea)

Sampling surface water and sediments at ten stations in Izmir Bay (eastern Aegean Sea) revealed widespread MP pollution, with concentrations up to 8 million particles per km² of surface water, dominated by plastic fragments. The study fills a gap in Mediterranean MP data and highlights the bay's vulnerability to contamination from nearby rivers, ports, and maritime traffic.

2023 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparative Distribution of Microplastics in Different Inland Aquatic Ecosystems

Researchers surveyed microplastic pollution in seven Greek inland water bodies differing in morphology and human impact, finding microplastics (predominantly fibers) in all samples with abundances from 0.60 particles/m³, highlighting contamination even in less impacted freshwater systems.

2025 Preprints.org
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in the Estuarine Area of the Pineios River: Seasonal Trends and Variability

Researchers examined microplastic concentrations and distribution patterns in the estuary area of Greece's Pineios River, finding clear seasonal variation with much higher levels in summer, and differences between sediment and water samples reflecting particle morphology and human activity patterns.

2025 Global NEST International Conference on Environmental Science & Technology
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of microplastics removal efficiency at a wastewater treatment plant discharging to the Sea of Marmara

Researchers tracked microplastics through all compartments of a secondary wastewater treatment plant in Istanbul, finding that the plant removed about 86% of incoming microplastics but still discharged a substantial number to the Sea of Marmara, with fibers as the dominant form.

2021 Environmental Pollution 106 citations
Article Tier 2

From source to sink: part 1—characterization and Lagrangian tracking of riverine microplastics in the Mediterranean Basin

Researchers characterized riverine microplastics from source to coastal sink, using Lagrangian tracking to trace the transport of particles from inland rivers to coastal deposition zones and identifying key retention points in the system.

2024 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Floating plastics in Adriatic waters (Mediterranean Sea): From the macro- to the micro-scale

Researchers quantified macro- and microplastics across the Adriatic Sea from populated gulfs and river outlets to offshore waters in five countries, finding widespread plastic contamination including small-sized fragments and demonstrating that small vessels enable detection of plastic size fractions missed by standard surveys.

2018 Marine Pollution Bulletin 126 citations
Article Tier 2

Characteristics and seasonal variation of microplastics in the wastewater treatment plant: The case of Bursa deep sea discharge

Researchers monitored microplastic characteristics and seasonal variation in wastewater and sludge from a treatment plant in Bursa-Gemlik, Turkey over 12 months, finding that the plant is a significant point source of microplastic release into the sea with seasonal fluctuations in abundance and composition.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 23 citations
Article Tier 2

The broad-scale microplastic distribution in surface water and sediments along Northeastern Mediterranean shoreline

Researchers surveyed microplastic distribution in surface water and sediments along 47 stations of the Turkish northeastern Mediterranean coast, finding widespread contamination with fibers and fragments detected via Nile Red staining, and identifying hotspots linked to coastal urbanization and river inputs.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring microplastic pollution in a Mediterranean river: The role of introduced species as bioindicators

Researchers used a non-native fish species in a Greek urban river to monitor microplastic pollution and found that about one-third of the fish had ingested microplastics, mostly polyethylene and polypropylene from packaging. The moderate contamination levels reflected the urban environment surrounding the river, with road runoff as a likely source. The study demonstrates that introduced fish species can serve as practical indicators of microplastic pollution in freshwater systems.

2023 Heliyon 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparative Distribution of Microplastics in Different Inland Aquatic Ecosystems

Researchers sampled seven Greek inland aquatic ecosystems of varying types and found microplastics in all locations, with fibers dominating (0.47–149.4 items/m³) and higher concentrations in vertical than surface samples, indicating that morphology, trophic status, and anthropogenic pressure influence distribution.

2025 Water
Article Tier 2

Riverine microplastic discharge along the southern Black Sea coast of Türkiye

Researchers sampled 29 rivers flowing into the southern Black Sea coast of Turkey and found microplastics present in all of them, with an average concentration of about 9.6 particles per cubic meter. Polypropylene and polyethylene were the most common types, and fibers were the dominant shape, likely originating from textile and domestic wastewater. The study highlights that rivers are a significant pathway for microplastic pollution entering the Black Sea.

2025 Environmental Research Letters 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW) as a Source of Microplastics in the Aquatic Environment

Researchers investigated wastewater treatment works as a source of microplastics in aquatic environments, finding that effluent discharges contribute measurable quantities of microplastics to receiving rivers despite treatment, with concentrations varying by treatment type.

2016 Environmental Science & Technology 1966 citations