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20 resultsShowing papers similar to How hyporheic pumping and bedform migration redistribute microplastic burial in sand-bed rivers
ClearThe role of pumping and turnover in controlling microplastics entrapment and release in sand-bed rivers
Researchers developed a mathematical framework to model how microplastics are trapped and released in sand-bed rivers through the combined effects of water flow and dune migration. The study found that dune movement substantially alters how microplastics are transported and buried in river sediments, with a nonlinear interplay between shallow rapid exchange and deep burial that depends on dune size and flow conditions.
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.
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.
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.
Microplastic infiltration into mobile sediments
Researchers used an annular flume to simulate how microplastic particles infiltrate into sandy river sediments as bedforms migrate. They found that particle size was the most important factor determining how deep microplastics penetrated into the sediment, while bedform speed and particle density had less influence. The study reveals that smaller microplastics can be buried deeper in river sediments, making them harder to detect and potentially creating long-term contamination reservoirs.
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.
Plastic pollution in riverbeds fundamentally affects natural sand transport processes
Researchers used laboratory flume experiments to show that plastic particles mixed into sandy riverbeds — even at low concentrations — disrupt the normal formation of ripples and dunes, causing irregular erosion patterns and pushing more sand into suspension in the water column. This means plastic pollution is not a passive bystander in river systems but actively alters the physical processes that shape river channels and transport sediment downstream.
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.
Hyporheic exchange processes of pore-scale microplastics
Researchers studied how microplastics move through the hyporheic zone, the region where river water mixes with groundwater beneath the streambed. They found that denser plastic particles sank through sediment pores toward groundwater, while lighter plastics rose to the surface, and both behaved differently from dissolved substances. These findings raise concerns that microplastics may be contaminating groundwater systems through processes that are not well captured by current water quality models.
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.
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.
The effects of streambed movement and particle size on microplastic deposition
Researchers conducted flume experiments using polypropylene fibers and polystyrene microspheres in sandy streambeds to examine how streambed motion and particle size influence microplastic deposition, finding that both factors significantly affect burial rates in riverine systems.
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.
Exploring the influence of sediment motion on microplastic deposition in streambeds
This study systematically explored how sediment motion affects microplastic deposition in streambeds made of fine sediments, finding that sediment transport dynamics play a critical role in controlling where microplastics accumulate. The results improve understanding of microplastic fate in riverine systems.
A depth-resolved snapshot of microplastic abundances in riffle heads in a gravelbed river
Researchers took depth-resolved samples from gravel riverbed sediments to map how microplastics distribute vertically through streambeds. They found significant quantities at depth, suggesting that riverbeds act as long-term reservoirs of microplastic pollution rather than just transient transport pathways.
The transport behaviour of microplastics in longitudinal mixing and hyporheic exchange under varied flow conditions
Researchers studied how microplastics move through river systems, examining both downstream transport and how particles interact with riverbeds through hyporheic exchange. Understanding these transport behaviors helps predict where microplastics accumulate in river sediments.
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.
Polymer-specific transfer and retention of microplastics at the river–sediment–groundwater interface
Scientists studied how tiny plastic particles move from rivers into underground water that could become drinking water. They found that different types of plastics behave differently - some float and stay in rivers, while heavier plastics like those from bottles and pipes sink into riverbeds and can travel into groundwater supplies. This research is important because it helps us understand how microplastics might contaminate the underground water sources we rely on for drinking water.
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.