Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Spatio and temporal dynamics of microplastic fluxes within the watercourses of a peri-urban watershed

Researchers tracked the spatiotemporal dynamics of microplastic fluxes within a river catchment over time, linking plastic transport patterns to land use activities. The study found that land use type is a key driver of when and how much microplastic enters and moves through watercourses.

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

Faecal contamination and its relationship with some environmental variables of four urban rivers in inner Hanoi city, Vietnam

Researchers assessed faecal coliform contamination and its relationship with physico-chemical variables in four urban rivers in inner Hanoi from 2020 to 2022, finding severe contamination exceeding Vietnamese water quality standards with significant correlations between bacterial levels and nutrient concentrations.

2023 VIETNAM JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Abundance, Distribution and Drivers of Microplastic Contaminant in Urban River Environments

Researchers surveyed microplastic distribution in urban river environments and identified key drivers of accumulation hotspots, finding that land use, hydrology, and infrastructure factors concentrated microplastics at predictable locations that could inform targeted management interventions.

2018 Preprints.org 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Dynamics of microplastics in urban rivers under varying hydrological regimes

Monitoring of urban rivers showed that microplastic concentrations fluctuate significantly with varying hydrological conditions such as storm events and seasonal flow changes. Understanding these dynamics is essential for accurately characterizing the river microplastic load and its variability over time.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Longitudinal patterns of microplastic concentration and bacterial assemblages in surface and benthic habitats of an urban river

This study measured microplastic concentrations and microbial communities in a river from source to mouth, finding that both plastic levels and unique plastisphere bacterial communities increased downstream of wastewater treatment plant outflows. The results identify wastewater discharge as a key driver of both microplastic loading and microbial community shifts in rivers.

2017 Freshwater Science 184 citations
Article Tier 2

Persistence of Fecal Indicators and Microbial Source Tracking Markers in Water Flushed from Riverbank Soils

The persistence of fecal indicator bacteria and the human-specific Bacteroides HF183 marker was measured in water flushed from riverbank soils to assess how long these indicators remain detectable after contamination events. The study provides data relevant to interpreting fecal pollution signals in river systems affected by sewer exfiltration and stormwater overflow.

2022 Water Air & Soil Pollution 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Advancing Quantitative Understanding of Escherichia Coli Concentrations in a Contemporary Mixed Land-Use Watershed, in West Virginia, USA

This watershed study investigated E. coli concentrations and their relationship to land use, water chemistry, and suspended particles across 22 sites in West Virginia. It is a water quality study focused on fecal bacteria rather than microplastic contamination.

2020 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrating land cover, point source pollution, and watershed hydrologic processes data to understand the distribution of microplastics in riverbed sediments

Researchers sampled riverbed sediments across the Meramec River watershed in Missouri and applied hydrological modelling to assess which factors best predict benthic microplastic distribution, finding that land cover and point source pollution variables outperformed discharge and sediment load in explaining spatial patterns, highlighting the dominance of anthropogenic sources over transport dynamics.

2022 Environmental Pollution 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Trapping and bypassing of suspended particulate matter, particulate nutrients and faecal indicator organisms in the river-estuary transition zone of a shallow macrotidal estuary

Researchers studied how suspended particles — including nutrients and fecal bacteria — move through the zone where a river meets an estuary, finding that tides, seasons, and river flood events all drive complex patterns of particle transport. The study reveals that this river-estuary transition zone acts more as a particle conduit than a long-term trap, with implications for water quality monitoring.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic in surface waters of urban rivers: concentration, sources, and associated bacterial assemblages

Researchers measured microplastic levels in the surface waters of the Chicago River and its urban tributaries, finding concentrations as high as 1.94 particles per cubic meter near wastewater outflows. They discovered that microplastic fibers and pellets were often colonized by bacterial communities distinct from those in the surrounding water. The study provides early evidence that urban rivers are significant conduits for microplastic pollution and that these particles may serve as rafts for microorganisms.

2016 Ecosphere 565 citations
Article Tier 2

Urban non-point source pollutants cause microbial community homogenization via increasing deterministic processes

This study found that non-point source pollutants from urban areas homogenize microbial communities in rivers by increasing the dominance of deterministic processes over random ones. Microplastics from urban runoff are among the non-point source pollutants that can alter aquatic microbial diversity.

2023
Article Tier 2

Spatial Persistence of Water Chemistry Patterns Across Flow Conditions in a Mesoscale Agricultural Catchment

This study found that spatial patterns in river water chemistry remain consistent across different flow conditions in an agricultural watershed. Persistent spatial patterns in pollution distribution could help predict where microplastics and other contaminants concentrate in river systems.

2021 Water Resources Research 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Anthropogenic particle concentrations and fluxes in an urban river are temporally variable and impacted by storm events

Researchers measured anthropogenic particle concentrations and deposition fluxes in an urban river over time, finding that particle loads were strongly driven by storm events rather than baseline flow conditions. During storm events, particle concentrations increased by an order of magnitude, identifying stormwater runoff as the dominant pathway delivering anthropogenic particles including microplastics to urban rivers.

2024 Water Environment Research 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatiotemporal dynamics of microplastics in an urban river network area

Researchers investigated microplastic dynamics in an urban river network in eastern China, finding abundances of 2.3 to 104.6 particles per liter that were significantly higher during wet seasons and concentrated near commercial, industrial, and wastewater discharge areas.

2022 Water Research 161 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatial and temporal variations of microplastic concentrations in Portland's freshwater ecosystems

Microplastic concentrations were monitored across Portland's urban freshwater ecosystems, revealing that land use, stormwater inputs, and seasonal variation all influenced plastic levels in rivers and streams. The study found that urban catchments with higher impervious surfaces consistently showed elevated microplastic concentrations.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 74 citations
Article Tier 2

Urbanization and hydrological conditions drive the spatial and temporal variability of microplastic pollution in the Garonne River

Researchers quantified microplastic concentrations across 14 sites in the Garonne River catchment in France, finding that urbanization drives spatial variation while seasonal hydrology shapes temporal patterns—with higher concentrations and smaller particles in warm, low-flow periods—and polyethylene, polystyrene, and polypropylene dominating polymer composition.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 152 citations
Article Tier 2

Variance and precision of microplastic sampling in urban rivers

Researchers assessed the variance and precision of microplastic sampling methods in urban rivers, finding that high spatial and temporal variability in microplastic concentrations requires carefully designed sampling strategies to obtain representative measurements and reliable data for river microplastic assessments.

2022 Environmental Pollution 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Modeling Contaminant Microbes in Rivers During Both Baseflow and Stormflow

A mobile-immobile transport model was developed to simulate how fecal bacteria and pathogens travel in rivers during both low-flow and storm conditions, incorporating attachment, detachment, and inactivation processes. The model improves predictions of microbial contamination risk in river systems and can guide drinking water and recreational water safety assessments.

2022 Geophysical Research Letters 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactive effect of urbanization and flood in modulating microplastic pollution in rivers

Researchers sampled the Garonne River upstream and downstream of a large urban area during flood events and found that microplastic concentrations increased 5 to 8 fold during floods. The study suggests that urbanization significantly modulates freshwater microplastic pollution during flood episodes, with downstream urban sites showing greater changes in microplastic composition and degradation levels.

2022 Environmental Pollution 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatial and temporal variability in in-stream microplastic loads can impact downstream plastic export

This study demonstrated that microplastic loads in streams show significant spatial and temporal variability driven by storm events and seasonal patterns, and that these dynamics can strongly influence the total plastic export from river systems to downstream waters.

2024
Article Tier 2

Influence of Urbanization and Seasonality on Microplastics in a Small Brazilian Inland Stream

Researchers sampled a small Brazilian inland stream upstream and downstream of an urban center during dry and rainy seasons, finding urbanization significantly increased microplastic abundance from 1.7 to 2.6 particles per liter during the dry season, while rainfall effects were less consistent.

2025 Microplastics
Article Tier 2

A case study investigating temporal factors that influence microplastic concentration in streams under different treatment regimes

Microplastic concentrations in streams fluctuate significantly over time, influenced by rainfall events and seasonal factors, which can make single-sample studies misleading. The study emphasizes the need for repeated, time-series sampling to accurately assess microplastic pollution in rivers.

2019 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 47 citations
Article Tier 2

Watershed urbanization enhances the enrichment of pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes on microplastics in the water environment

Researchers compared microplastic biofilm communities (the plastisphere) across watersheds with different levels of urbanization, finding that higher urbanization enriched pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes on plastic surfaces in waterways. The study suggests that urban runoff substantially elevates the health risk posed by microplastics as vectors of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance.

2022 Environmental Pollution 77 citations
Article Tier 2

Particle-Associated Contaminant Transport in Rivers during High Discharge Events

Researchers examined suspended river sediments during high discharge events for the presence of anthropogenic particles including microplastics and tyre wear particles, as well as their co-transport with organic pollutants including PFAS and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, in an urbanizing catchment context.

2024