The transport and vertical distribution of microplastics in the Mekong River, SE Asia.

Rivers are primary vectors of plastic debris to oceans, but sources, transport mechanisms, and fate of fluvial microplastics (<5 mm) remain poorly understood, impeding accurate predictions of microplastic flux, ecological risk and socio-economic impacts. We report on microplastic concentrations, characteristics and dynamics in the Mekong River, one of the world's largest and polluting rivers, in Cambodia and Vietnam. Sampling throughout the water column at multiple localities detected an average of 24 microplastics m (0.

The contamination of in situ archaeological remains: A pilot analysis of microplastics in sediment samples using μFTIR.

Background: Microplastics (MPs) are found in all environments: aquatic, airborne, and terrestrial. While their presence is not disputed, their potential impacts are not yet known.

Objective: To undertake a pilot analysis of MP contamination in archaeological sediment samples, taken in the late 1980s from two archaeological excavation sites in the historic city of York (UK) as well as contemporary sources close to the same sites, with respect to the presence (if any), levels, and characteristics of any particles identified.

Microplastic trapping efficiency and hydrodynamics in model coral reefs: A physical experimental investigation.

Coastal ecosystems, such as coral reefs, are vulnerable to microplastic pollution input from proximal riverine and shoreline sources. However, deposition, retention, and transport processes are largely unevaluated, especially in relation to hydrodynamics. For the first time, we experimentally investigate the retention of biofilmed microplastic by branching 3D printed corals (staghorn coral Acropora genus) under various unidirectional flows (U = {0.