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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Marine Debris in River Margins: Wet and Dry Weathering Effects on the Fragmentation and Degradation of Discarded Plastic
ClearMarine debris in river margins: wet and dry weathering effects on the fragmentation and degradation of discarded plastic
Researchers evaluated how extended wet and dry weathering affects the fragmentation and degradation of common land-based debris items found in riparian zones—including cigarette filters, plastic bags, food containers, and medical masks. All materials fragmented into microplastics under both weathering regimes, with dry weathering often more effective at generating secondary microplastic particles, confirming riverbanks as significant microplastic generation zones.
Experimental method for quantifying macroplastic fragmentation in rivers
Researchers proposed and tested an experimental methodology for quantifying macroplastic fragmentation during river transport by conducting repeated mass measurements of tagged plastic items before and after riverine transport over 52-65 days. They found measurable mass loss from fragmentation, providing the first direct field quantification of riverine macroplastic fragmentation rates and supporting the hypothesis that river channels are hotspots for plastic breakdown.
Experimental method for quantifying macroplastic fragmentation in rivers
Researchers developed an experimental methodology to quantify macroplastic fragmentation during river transport by repeatedly measuring the mass of tagged plastic items before and after transit. A 52-65 day field test of the method yielded the first quantitative measurements of fragmentation rates for 1-litre plastic bottles transported through a river channel.
Conceptual framework for exploring riverine macroplastic fragmentation
This paper presents a conceptual framework for studying how macroplastic debris fragments into smaller particles in rivers, identifying key physical and chemical processes and calling for field-based fragmentation rate data to improve plastic pollution models.
Macroplastic fragmentation in rivers
This review examines how large plastic debris in rivers gradually breaks apart into micro- and nanoplastics through physical abrasion, UV degradation, and biological activity, with river systems acting as long-term reservoirs and transfer pathways for plastic pollution. The authors propose a conceptual framework identifying which properties of the plastic item and which river characteristics control how quickly fragmentation occurs, finding that retention times can range from years to centuries. Understanding these fragmentation rates is essential for predicting how much secondary microplastic pollution ultimately reaches the ocean and enters food chains.
Weathering Processand Characteristics of Microplasticsin Coastal Wetlands: A 24-Month In Situ Study
Researchers conducted a 24-month study of microplastic weathering in coastal wetlands, characterizing how wetland-specific conditions including UV exposure, salinity, and biological activity alter plastic surface chemistry, fragmentation, and biofilm colonization over time.
Insights into the in-situ degradation and fragmentation of macroplastics in a low-order riverine system
Researchers studied the in-situ degradation and fragmentation of larger plastic debris into microplastics within a low-order stream system. The study found that these small, often overlooked waterways are active sites where plastic materials break down, serving as important conduits for microplastic generation and transport to downstream coastal environments.
The Duration of Dry Events Promotes PVC Film Fragmentation in Intermittent Rivers
Researchers investigated how river drying events and UV exposure affect the fragmentation of PVC films, relevant to understanding microplastic generation in intermittent rivers. They found that longer drying periods significantly increased the number of microplastic fragments produced during subsequent mechanical abrasion. The study suggests that climate-driven increases in river drying could accelerate the breakdown of plastic debris into microplastics in freshwater environments.
Plastic fragmentation in the environment
This thesis investigates how larger plastic items fragment into microplastics in different environments—air, freshwater, and seawater—finding that plastic degrades fastest when exposed to air and sunlight, and much more slowly in water. The findings suggest that land-based plastic waste exposed to sunlight is a major source of microplastics that eventually enter the marine environment.
Controls on microplastic breakdown due to abrasion in gravel bed rivers
Researchers investigated the physical controls on microplastic fragmentation due to mechanical abrasion in gravel-bed rivers, examining how particle size, morphology, polymer type, and weathering state influence breakdown rates and the resulting changes in surface properties that alter risk profiles during fluvial transport.
Transformation of plastic debris to microplastics: An approximate analysis of mangrove environments
In a Mexican mangrove forest used as a study site, researchers tracked how large plastic items left in the environment weathered and physically fragmented into microplastic particles over time, quantifying the transformation process. Mangroves are major collectors of land-derived plastic waste, so understanding the rate at which macro-debris becomes microplastics in these ecosystems is essential for modeling how much microplastic pollution mangrove coastlines export to the wider ocean.
First attempt to measure macroplastic fragmentation in rivers
Researchers developed the first method to directly measure how large plastic debris fragments into microplastics while traveling through rivers. They found that river transport causes significant breakdown of plastic waste into smaller pieces, confirming that rivers are major producers of secondary microplastics. This is important for understanding where microplastics come from, since rivers eventually carry these particles to oceans and drinking water sources.
Fragmentation of Disposed Plastic Waste Materials in Different Aquatic Environments
PET plastic bottles and non-woven fibers were exposed to different aquatic environments — freshwater, seawater, and wastewater — to study how they fragment over time. PET degraded faster in some environments and produced fragments of varying sizes depending on conditions. Understanding fragmentation pathways is essential for predicting how plastic waste transforms into microplastics in different water bodies.
Macro-plastic weathering in a coastal environment: field experiment in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland
Field experiments in Chesapeake Bay tracked how macroplastic items of different polymer types weathered and fragmented over time in a coastal environment. The study found that UV exposure and wave action caused rapid surface degradation and fragmentation, with important implications for how quickly plastic pollution generates secondary microplastics in coastal zones.
Macroplastic fragmentation in rivers
This paper presents a framework for understanding how larger plastic waste in rivers breaks down into microplastics and nanoplastics over time. The researchers identified key factors that control fragmentation, including the type of plastic, its shape, and river conditions like sunlight exposure and water flow. Understanding this process is important because rivers are a major pathway for microplastics to spread through the environment and eventually reach drinking water sources.
Aging of microplastics in a subtropical river system in Florida, USA
Researchers conducted a two-year field study in a subtropical Florida river to track how five common polymer types age across different environmental layers from air to sediment. They found that aging processes, including surface cracking, chemical oxidation, and microbial colonization, varied significantly by polymer type and environmental position, revealing the complex ways microplastics transform in river systems.
Microplastics formation based on degradation characteristics of beached plastic bags
Laboratory weathering of plastic bags under UV and mechanical stress produced microplastic fragments of varied sizes and shapes, with degradation rate and fragment characteristics depending on the bag material and environmental conditions.
From macroplastic to microplastic: Degradation of high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene in a salt marsh habitat
Researchers subjected high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, and other plastics to simulated environmental degradation and tracked their fragmentation from macro- to microplastic sizes, characterizing surface changes and particle generation rates.
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.
Difference in polypropylene fragmentation mechanism between marine and terrestrial regions
Researchers compared how polypropylene plastic fragments differently in marine versus terrestrial environments, finding that ocean-exposed plastic shows a distinct delamination pattern while land-based plastic shows surface abrasion. Understanding these mechanisms helps predict how and where microplastics are generated from larger plastic debris.
On mechanical fragmentation of single-use plastics in the sea swash zone with different types of bottom sediments: Insights from laboratory experiments
Laboratory experiments simulated wave action and beach conditions to study how four common plastic types mechanically fragment from centimeter-scale pieces into microplastics, with fragmentation rates depending on plastic type and sediment composition. Understanding these fragmentation dynamics helps explain how beach plastic litter generates the microplastic particles found in coastal environments.
Effects of drying on plastic fragmentation and microplastic size on the functional role of a shredder organism Gammarus fossarum.
This study found that drying conditions in intermittent rivers accelerate plastic fragmentation, producing more and smaller microplastics as drying duration increases. Subsequent lab experiments showed these smaller particles were more lethal to the freshwater amphipod Gammarus fossarum, a key shredder organism, suggesting that intermittent rivers and seasonal streams — which make up a large fraction of global waterways — may be underappreciated hotspots of microplastic generation and ecological harm.
Quantification and Categorization of Macroplastics (Plastic Debris) within a Headwaters Basin in Western North Carolina, USA: Implications to the Potential Impacts of Plastic Pollution on Biota
Researchers quantified and categorized plastic debris along Richland Creek, a heavily forested watershed in western North Carolina. They collected over 1,700 pieces of plastic, predominantly films and hard plastics, with foam and film items showing the highest fragmentation rates. A laboratory component confirmed that collected items readily break down into microplastics, demonstrating how macroplastic litter in even rural waterways serves as a continuous source of microplastic pollution.
Survey on Microplastics and Macroscopic Floating Garbage in River, Coasts, and Estuary in the Eastern Part of Takamatsu City, Japan
Researchers surveyed microplastics and macroscopic floating litter in rivers, coasts, and estuaries in eastern Takamatsu City, Japan, finding PE and PP dominated microplastics in both river and coastal environments, and that plastic fragments, bags, and cigarette butts were the most common macro-litter items with distribution influenced by wind and wave conditions.