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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to The role of pumping and turnover in controlling microplastics entrapment and release in sand-bed rivers
ClearHow hyporheic pumping and bedform migration redistribute microplastic burial in sand-bed rivers
Scientists studied how tiny plastic particles (microplastics) get trapped in riverbeds and found that moving sand dunes don't just increase or decrease plastic burial—they actually shift where the plastics end up stored. The research shows that plastic particles can get buried in shallow or deeper layers of river sediment depending on how the sand moves, which affects how long these pollutants stay in the environment. This matters because understanding where microplastics accumulate in rivers helps us better predict their impact on water quality and the health of ecosystems that people depend on.
Sand bed river dynamics controlling microplastic flux
Researchers used controlled flume experiments to show that sand bed rivers can retain up to 40% of their microplastic load within the sediment, making them significant sinks for plastic pollution. They found that bedform dynamics, particularly the speed at which sand dunes move, can predict microplastic flux through the system. The study also revealed that microplastic shape plays a more important role than previously recognized in determining whether particles are trapped or transported downstream.
A semi-analytical approach to characterize the effects of unsteadiness and dune migration on microplastics fate
Researchers developed a semi-analytical approach to model microplastic fate in streams, showing that unsteady flow conditions and migrating sand dunes significantly influence where microplastics are deposited and how long they remain in benthic and hyporheic zones.
Modeling microplastic deposition in sandy streams with moving bedforms
Researchers developed a coupled model combining improved mechanistic colloid attachment predictions with a bedform transport model to quantify microplastic deposition in sandy streams with moving dune bedforms, running numerical simulations to assess how streambed characteristics, flow conditions, and particle properties interact to control microplastic retention. The model addressed the poor predictive power of classical colloid filtration theory for microplastics by incorporating bedform dynamics into deposition calculations.
Modelling the Fate of Microplastics in river bed sediments.
Researchers modeled the fate of microplastics deposited in river bed sediments, examining how hydrological conditions influence their distribution, burial, and potential for downstream transport. The models revealed that river bed sediments act as significant long-term reservoirs for microplastic pollution.
Modelling the Fate of Microplastics in river bed sediments.
Researchers modeled microplastic transport, deposition, and burial in river bed sediments under varying hydrological conditions. River bed sediments were found to act as long-term reservoirs for microplastics, with periodic high-flow events temporarily resuspending and redistributing particles.
Studying the effect of moving sandy bedforms on the infiltration behavior of microplastic particles
This laboratory study investigated how microplastic particles move through sandy riverbeds when the sediment itself is in motion. Results showed that natural sand movement significantly affects where microplastics end up, which has important implications for understanding how plastics accumulate in freshwater ecosystems.
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.
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.
A numerical model of microplastic erosion, transport, and deposition for fluvial systems
Researchers developed a numerical model of microplastic erosion, transport, and deposition in river systems, finding that rivers act as temporary sinks trapping significant fractions of MPs before they reach the ocean, with implications for estimating marine MP loading from terrestrial sources.
Microplastic deposition in streams under moving bedforms
Researchers conducted flume experiments to examine microplastic deposition in sandy streambeds under moving bedform conditions, finding that bedform migration and particle size both control whether microplastics are buried or remain in suspension, with implications for estimating MP residence times in river systems.
Significance of Hyporheic Exchange for Predicting Microplastic Fate in Rivers
Researchers modeled the role of hyporheic exchange — water flow between rivers and streambed sediments — in driving microplastic delivery and retention in riverbeds, finding that this process significantly increases the rate at which small and positively buoyant microplastics are transported into streambed sediments. The study highlights hyporheic exchange as an underappreciated mechanism controlling microplastic fate in freshwater environments.
Rivers as Conduits: A Comprehensive Model of Microplastic Fate and Transport
This study developed a comprehensive model of microplastic fate and transport in rivers, integrating processes of erosion, resuspension, sedimentation, and burial to simulate how microplastics move through river networks toward the ocean.
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.
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.
Macroplastic Storage and Remobilization in Rivers
Researchers developed a conceptual model of macroplastic debris transport through fluvial systems, dividing the pathway into input, transport, storage, remobilization, and output phases and hypothesizing that natural channel dynamics control whether river systems act as net sources or sinks of plastic pollution.
Resolving the dynamics of microplastic transport and burial in rivers requires the incorporation of fluvial sedimentary processes
This review examines how fluvial sedimentary processes govern microplastic transport and burial in river networks, summarizing research on shear stress controls of MP deposition onto surficial sediment, water-sediment exchange dynamics, and the time scales over which MPs are buried and remobilized.
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.
Hydro-geomorphological features govern the distribution, storage, and transport processes of riverbed microplastics
This study examined how river channel shape, water flow, and sediment dynamics control where microplastics accumulate, travel, and are stored in riverbeds. Identifying these hydro-geomorphological drivers is important for predicting microplastic transport to downstream ecosystems and the ocean.
Hydro-geomorphological features govern the distribution, storage, and transport processes of riverbed microplastics
This study examined how river channel shape, water flow, and sediment dynamics control where microplastics accumulate, travel, and are stored in riverbeds. Identifying these hydro-geomorphological drivers is important for predicting microplastic transport to downstream ecosystems and the ocean.
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.
Bedform segregation and locking increase storage of natural and synthetic particles in rivers
Researchers discovered that the exchange of water between rivers and their riverbeds (called hyporheic exchange) plays a major role in trapping fine particles — including synthetic particles — within riverbed sediments, sometimes locking them in place permanently. This finding helps explain how microplastics and other fine pollutants become stored in river sediments rather than being flushed downstream.
Modeling impacts of river hydrodynamics on fate and transport of microplastics in riverine environments
Researchers built a computer model to simulate how microplastics travel and transform in river systems, accounting for particle aggregation and breakage driven by water flow. They found that microplastics clump together significantly in the early stages after entering a river, which changes the size distribution of particles flowing downstream. The study suggests that river conditions play a major role in determining what size and form of microplastics eventually reach the ocean.
From Grains to Plastics: Modeling Nourishment Patterns and Hydraulic Sorting of Fluvially Transported Materials in Deltas
Researchers developed a novel modelling framework to simulate how fluvially transported materials including sediment and plastic contaminants are partitioned and hydraulically sorted across river delta environments. The model addressed the challenge that non-water materials are not uniformly distributed in the water column and may follow characteristic transport pathways distinct from mean flow, improving predictions of microplastic fate in deltaic systems.