Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Horizontal transport of macro- and microplastics on soil surface by rainfall induced surface runoff as affected by vegetations

Researchers investigated how rainfall-induced surface runoff transports macro- and microplastics across soil surfaces, finding that vegetation cover significantly reduces plastic transport while plastic size, density, and rainfall intensity also influence horizontal movement.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 104 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport and Fate of Microplastics in Terrestrial Environments: The Role of Surface Runoff, Root-Mediated Infiltration, and Fragmentation-Driven Mobility

Researchers investigated the transport and fate of microplastics in terrestrial environments through three key processes -- surface runoff, root-mediated infiltration, and fragmentation-driven mobility -- applying classical sediment transport principles to microplastic movement. Field studies and laboratory experiments examined how particle characteristics such as density, size, and shape influence microplastic distribution across agricultural and natural landscapes.

2025 Qucosa (Saxon State and University Library Dresden)
Article Tier 2

Quantifying the movement of microplastics in soil in response to overland flow and splash erosion

Researchers quantified how overland flow and raindrop splash erosion mobilize and transport microplastics from soil surfaces. Both processes moved microplastic particles, with splash being particularly effective at short distances and overland flow dominating transport over larger areas. Understanding these erosion-driven transport processes is important for predicting how microplastics move from agricultural fields into streams and rivers.

2023
Article Tier 2

Soil erosion as transport pathway of microplastic from agriculture soils to aquatic ecosystems

Researchers simulated heavy rainfall events on agricultural soils containing microplastics and tracked particle transport through runoff and erosion, finding that soil erosion is a significant pathway for moving agricultural microplastics into adjacent water bodies, with particle size and shape governing transport distance.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 166 citations
Article Tier 2

Horizontal and vertical mobilisation of microplastics in agricultural soils: run-off and infiltration experiments

Researchers measured the horizontal runoff and vertical leaching of microplastics from agricultural mulching films in field plots, quantifying transport under simulated rainfall. Both transport pathways were significant, with particle size and soil properties influencing how far microplastics moved from their source.

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

The Transport of Microplastics from Soil in Response to Surface Runoff and Splash Erosion

Using high-frequency photography and fluorescent particles during rainfall simulations, researchers tracked how different types of microplastics move across soil surfaces in real time. All tested microplastic types moved faster than natural sand particles during rainfall, with surface runoff being the primary transport mechanism. The findings suggest that rain events can efficiently wash microplastics from agricultural and urban soils into nearby waterways.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Behaviour and transport of microplastics under saturated flow conditions in sediments and soils

Researchers investigated the behaviour and transport of microplastics under saturated flow conditions in sediments and soils, examining how particle properties influence movement through porous media. The study aimed to improve understanding of subsurface microplastic fate and transport relevant to both soil and groundwater contamination.

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

Microplastic Transport by Overland Flow: Effects of Soil Texture and Slope Gradient Under Simulated Semi-Arid Conditions

Using rainfall simulation experiments across soils of varying texture and slope gradients, researchers studied how overland flow transports microplastics of different shapes and sizes, finding that soil texture and slope angle significantly influenced MP runoff distance and concentration.

2025 Soil Systems 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding the overland transport of microplastics from agricultural soils to freshwater systems

This study investigated how microplastics move from agricultural soils to freshwater systems through surface runoff. Researchers found that rainfall intensity, soil type, and particle characteristics all influenced how much plastic reached waterways. Understanding the overland transport pathway is important because agricultural soils are one of the largest reservoirs of microplastics in terrestrial environments.

2023
Article Tier 2

Rainfall-induced lateral and vertical microplastic transport of varying sizes in agricultural fields

Rainfall simulation experiments tracked polyethylene microplastics of three size ranges (53–500 µm) on agricultural soil plots, finding that smaller particles were transported farther laterally in surface runoff and penetrated deeper into soil profiles, highlighting size-dependent microplastic mobility under rainfall conditions.

2025 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Horizontal and vertical mobilisation of microplastics in agricultural soils: run-off and infiltration experiments

Researchers studied the horizontal and vertical movement of microplastics from agricultural mulch films in soil, examining runoff and leaching as transport pathways. The study found that microplastics from mulch films migrate both downward into the soil profile and laterally via surface runoff.

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

Processes controlling the transportation of microplastics in agricultural soils

Researchers investigated the physical processes controlling microplastic transport through agricultural soils, examining how soil structure, water flow, bioturbation, and particle properties interact to move microplastics from surface application sites deeper into the soil profile or laterally toward aquatic systems. The study addressed the dual role of agricultural soils as both sinks and potential sources of microplastic pollution to surrounding environments.

2022
Article Tier 2

Behaviour and transport of microplastics under saturated flow conditions in sediments and soils

Researchers investigated the behavior and transport of microplastics under saturated flow conditions in sediments and soils, examining how physical and chemical properties of microplastic particles influence their mobility through porous geological media. The study addressed knowledge gaps in understanding subsurface microplastic transport relevant to groundwater contamination and the fate of microplastics deposited in terrestrial environments.

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

Influence of polymer age and soil aggregation on microplastic transport in soil erosion events

Researchers compared the transport rates of pristine and aged polystyrene microplastics during simulated rainfall events and quantified their incorporation into soil aggregates across multiple wet-dry cycles, providing the first empirical data on how surface roughness and hydrophobicity changes from weathering affect MP mobility in soil erosion.

2024
Article Tier 2

Microplastics transport in soils: A critical review

This critical review examined how microplastics are transported through soils, evaluating the role of particle size and shape, soil texture, water flow, and bioturbation in governing vertical and lateral transport. The authors identify knowledge gaps in field-scale transport processes and call for standardized leaching experiments to improve predictions of microplastic mobility in terrestrial systems.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Catchment-scale mechanistic predictions of microplastic transport and distribution across land and water

Researchers developed the first catchment-scale model successfully predicting microplastic transport from land to water, validated against field data, revealing how soil accumulation, runoff dynamics, and in-stream transport interact to determine where microplastics concentrate before reaching the ocean.

2022 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Rainfall-induced microplastic fate and transport in unsaturated Dutch soils

This study simulated rainfall conditions to track how different types of microplastics move through Dutch soils, finding that sandy soils allowed significantly more microplastics to wash through than loamy soils. Heavier rainfall increased microplastic movement by up to 144% depending on the plastic type, with conventional polyethylene washing out most easily. The findings suggest that rain can carry microplastics from surface soil into groundwater, potentially contaminating drinking water sources.

2024 Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of microplastics on small-scale soil surface roughness and implications for wind transport of microplastic particles

Researchers investigated how microplastics mixed into soil affect surface roughness at small scales, finding that microplastics altered surface texture in ways that could increase soil susceptibility to wind erosion and promote atmospheric transport of microplastic particles.

2025 Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Size/shape-dependent migration of microplastics in agricultural soil under simulative and natural rainfall

Researchers found that microplastic migration in agricultural soil under rainfall depends on particle size and shape, with smaller particles moving deeper and rainfall intensity significantly influencing vertical transport patterns in soil profiles.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 132 citations
Article Tier 2

Wind- and rain-driven macroplastic mobilization and transport on land

Researchers conducted laboratory experiments exposing four types of macroplastics on terrains of varying roughness and slope to changing wind speeds and rain intensities to quantify land-based mobilization and transport. They found mobilization probability and transport velocity depend strongly on terrain and material properties, with plastic bags mobilizing at 100% probability at Beaufort 3 while other plastics mobilized at below 50%, and mobilization rates were higher on paved surfaces than grass.

2023 Research Square (Research Square) 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Deposition and in-situ translocation of microplastics in floodplain soils

This study examined how microplastics deposit and move through floodplain soils during flooding events, finding that floods both deposit and redistribute microplastics in agricultural and riparian soils. The findings help explain how microplastic pollution spreads from rivers into surrounding terrestrial environments.

2021 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Threshold migration conditions of (micro) plastics under the action of overland flow

This study investigated how plastic particles and films move across different surfaces — smooth, concrete, and soil — under simulated rainfall and surface runoff, finding that smaller size, steeper slopes, and faster water flow all increase plastic mobility from land into waterways. The results improve understanding of how terrestrial plastic pollution ultimately reaches aquatic ecosystems, an important but under-studied part of the microplastic pollution pathway.

2023 Water Research 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Experimental study on the transport processes of different types of microplastics in rainfall runoff over urban road surface

Researchers investigated the transport of polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, and polypropylene microplastics in urban road runoff under varying rainfall intensities and slopes using simulated rainfall experiments. They found that rainfall intensity and slope significantly influence microplastic mobilization and entry into downstream water bodies.

2025 Environmental Pollution
Article Tier 2

Subsurface transport of microplastic particles in gravel columns: Impacts of different rain events and particle characteristics

Researchers conducted column experiments using pre-stained microplastic particles of two density types in gravel sediment to investigate how different rainfall intensities and land-use scenarios influence the vertical transport and retention of microplastics in subsurface environments. The study found that both particle density and rainfall event characteristics significantly affected microplastic mobility through subsurface sediments, informing models of microplastic fate in soil-water systems.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)