Microplastic accumulation in riverbed sediment via hyporheic exchange from headwaters to mainstems

Drummond, Jennifer; Schneidewind, Uwe; Li, Angang; Hoellein, Timothy J.; Krause, Stefan; Packman, Aaron I.

doi:10.1126/sciadv.abi9305

Cited by 115 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Rivers can be both a source and a sink for waste from surrounding area, such as plastic litter and microplastics (MPs). Many MPs from urban wastewater end up settling near river mouths and take a long time to make their way downstream to the ocean [1]. As the population grows and human activities and production activities in the industrial and agricultural sectors increase, plastic waste in rivers or aquatic ecosystems has become an important issue [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occurrence of Microplastics in River Water in Southern Thailand

Pradit

Noppradit

Sengloyluan

et al. 2023

JMSE

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Microplastic (MP) contamination in the marine environment has received growing attention. In 2022, the surface water of the U-Taphao River was sampled four times, in February, April, June, and August. The surface water samples were taken at seven different locations, ranging from upstream to downstream parts of the river. The results reveal that the number of MPs detected at the U-Taphao River in February, April, June, and August were 0.41 ± 0.08, 0.25 ±0.06, 0.24 ± 0.11, and 0.26 ± 0.06 particles/L, respectively. The MPs in the U-Taphao River each month were not statistically different (p = 0.190). The trend of the number of MPs found declined from upstream to downstream. Fibers were the most commonly found MPs in the U-Taphao River in this study and were found at more than 80% of all stations during all sample collection periods. Our results indicate that MP contamination is present in the river water, but it is noted that slightly different polymer types were found during each collection month. MPs can be transferred through the food chain and potentially to humans. Regular monitoring of MPs in the riverine system is, therefore, important, for which the findings of the present study can be used as a baseline for the number of MPs in the river water in the region.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occurrence of Microplastics in River Water in Southern Thailand

Pradit

Noppradit

Sengloyluan

et al. 2023

JMSE

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“…Plastic debris has been found throughout the river environment including in sedimentary deposits within river channels (e.g., bars, levees) (Mani et al, 2019), on riverbanks (Dris et al, 2015;Klein et al, 2015) and on floodplains (Weber and Opp, 2020). Our knowledge on the behavior of plastic transport within rivers has also vastly improved over the last decade including the role of water discharge (Drummond et al, 2022;van Emmerik et al, 2018), and extreme flood events (Daniel et al, 2022;Hurley et al, 2018;Roebroek et al, 2021) on the remobilization of plastic waste. Simulations indicate that the longest microplastic residence times occur in headwaters averaging up to 7 years/km during low-flow conditions (Drummond et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leaving a plastic legacy: current and future scenarios for mismanaged plastic waste in rivers

Nyberg¹,

Harris²,

Kane³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Mismanaged plastic waste (MPW) entering the riverine environment is concerning, given that most plastic pollution never reaches the oceans, and it has a severe negative impact on terrestrial ecosystems. However, significant knowledge gaps on the storage and remobilization of MPW within different rivers over varying timescales remain. Here we analyze the exposure of river systems to MPW to better understand the sedimentary processes that control the legacy of plastic waste. Using a conservative approach, we estimate 0.8 million tonnes of MPW enter rivers annually in 2015, affecting an estimated 84% of rivers by surface area, globally. By 2060, the amount of MPW input to rivers is expected to increase nearly 3-fold, however improved plastic waste strategies through better governance can decrease plastic pollution by up to 72%. Currently, most plastic input occurs along anthropogenically modified rivers (49%) yet these represent only 23% of rivers by surface area. Another 17% of MPW occur in free-flowing actively migrating meandering rivers that likely retain most plastic waste within sedimentary deposits, increasing retention times and likelihood of biochemical weathering. Active braided rivers receive less MPW (14%), but higher water discharge will also increase fragmentation to form microplastics. Only 20% of plastic pollution is found in non-migrating and free-flowing rivers; these have the highest probability of plastics remaining within the water column and being transferred downstream. This study demonstrates the spatial variability in MPW affecting different global river systems with different retention, fragmentation, and biochemical weathering rates of plastics. Targeted mitigation strategies and environmental risk assessments are needed at both international and national levels that consider river system dynamics.

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“…MnPs have been detected in all environments, but their versatility and omnipresence make source identification very challenging (Rochman et al 2019;Horton et al 2017). A substantial number of studies have been dedicated to MnPs in marine (Kane and Clare 2019;Nel et al 2020;Alfaro-Núñez et al 2021) and riverine environments (Li et al 2018a;Hoellein et al 2019;Drummond et al 2022) where MnPs have been found to have the capability to enter food webs (Krause et al 2021) or pose a potential threat to a variety of species (Kukkola et al 2021;Kwak et al 2022) and even entire ecosystems (de Souza Machado et al 2018). However, research on the fate, transport and impact of microplastics in soils and especially groundwater is still in its infancy (Re 2019;Goeppert and Goldscheider 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics and nanoplastics in agriculture—A potential source of soil and groundwater contamination?

Moeck

Davies

Krause

et al. 2022

Grundwasser - Zeitschrift der Fachsektion Hydrogeologie

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An overview of the current state of knowledge on the pollution of agricultural soils with microplastic and nanoplastic (MnP) particles is provided and the main MnP sources are discussed. MnP transport mechanisms from soil to groundwater, as well as the potential impact of MnPs on soil structure are considered, and the relevance of co-contaminants such as agrochemicals is further highlighted. We elaborate on why MnPs in soil and groundwater are understudied and how analytical capabilities are critical for furthering this crucial research area. We point out that plastic fragmentation in soils can generate secondary MnPs, and that these smaller particles potentially migrate into aquifers. The transport of MnP in soils and groundwater and their migration and fate are still poorly understood. Higher MnP concentrations in agricultural soils can influence the sorption behavior of agrochemicals onto soil grains while attachment/detachment of MnPs onto soil grains and MnP-agrochemical interactions can potentially lead to enhanced transport of both MnP particles and agrochemicals towards underlying groundwater systems.

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Microplastic accumulation in riverbed sediment via hyporheic exchange from headwaters to mainstems

Abstract: Bidirectional flow between surface water and sediment leads to high accumulation of small and lightweight microplastics in rivers.

Cited by 115 publications

References 46 publications

Occurrence of Microplastics in River Water in Southern Thailand

Occurrence of Microplastics in River Water in Southern Thailand

Leaving a plastic legacy: current and future scenarios for mismanaged plastic waste in rivers

Microplastics and nanoplastics in agriculture—A potential source of soil and groundwater contamination?

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