Morphology-dependent transport of atmospheric microplastics and the indicator role of polyester fibers across the estuarine- offshore gradient

IF 7.2 2区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Environmental Pollution Pub Date : 2026-11-15 Epub Date: 2026-08-19 DOI:10.1016/j.envpol.2026.128994

Fei Jiang, Yan Yang, Pingang Wei, Xuanzheng Wang, Yuang Liu, Xinyue Tang, Zhenming Ge, Dan Zhang, Qiqing Chen

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Abstract

Atmosphere is an important route for the transport of terrestrial microplastics (MPs) from land to sea, but research on the extent of atmospheric MP transport is limited due to sampling and quantification challenges. Here we focused on a typical land-sea interface, the Yangtze River Estuary, to investigate the transport characteristics and deposition flux of atmospheric MPs. Results show that the particle abundance and mass concentration were 0.03 ± 0.02 item/m³ and 0.01 ± 0.02 μg/m³, respectively. No significant spatial or seasonal (summer, autumn and winter) variation was found, indicating a stable distribution pattern. The atmospheric deposition flux of MPs above the Yangtze River Estuary was estimated to be 0.04 ± 0.08 t/yr. Of note, morphology was found to be an important factor controlling their distribution and transport potential. By using a shape-dependent drag model, we estimated the settling velocities for different non-spherical MPs. Fibers, which account for 90.19% of all MPs, exhibited a relatively lower settling velocity (∼0.05 m/s), indicating high atmospheric transport capability from land to sea. In contrast, non-fibrous MPs showed substantially higher settling velocities (∼0.75 m/s) and a corresponding decline in abundance from inner to offshore regions. Across the estuarine gradient, fibrous polyester MPs were found in consistent abundance, suggesting they can record background atmospheric MP pollution levels and could contribute as reliable evidence required for plastic pollution management and the development of a global plastics treaty.

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大气微塑料的形态依赖运输和聚酯纤维在河口-近海梯度上的指示作用。

大气是陆地微塑料（MPs）从陆地向海洋运输的重要途径，但由于采样和量化方面的挑战，对大气中MPs运输程度的研究有限。本文以典型陆海界面长江口为研究对象，研究了大气MPs的输运特征和沉积通量。结果表明，颗粒丰度和质量浓度分别为0.03±0.02 μg/m3和0.01±0.02 μg/m3。夏、秋、冬三季无明显的空间和季节变化，呈稳定的分布格局。长江口上空MPs的大气沉积通量为0.04±0.08 t/yr。值得注意的是，形态是控制其分布和运输潜力的重要因素。通过形状相关的阻力模型，我们估计了不同非球形MPs的沉降速度。纤维占所有MPs的90.19%，其沉降速度相对较低（~ 0.05 m/s），表明具有较高的从陆地到海洋的大气输送能力。相比之下，非纤维MPs显示出更高的沉降速度（~ 0.75 m/s），并且从内部到近海区域的丰度相应下降。在河口梯度的另一边，纤维聚酯微塑料的丰度一致，这表明它们可以记录背景大气微塑料污染水平，并可以作为塑料污染管理和制定全球塑料条约所需的可靠证据。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Environmental Pollution 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

16.00

自引率

6.70%

发文量

2082

审稿时长

2.9 months

期刊介绍： Environmental Pollution is an international peer-reviewed journal that publishes high-quality research papers and review articles covering all aspects of environmental pollution and its impacts on ecosystems and human health. Subject areas include, but are not limited to: • Sources and occurrences of pollutants that are clearly defined and measured in environmental compartments, food and food-related items, and human bodies; • Interlinks between contaminant exposure and biological, ecological, and human health effects, including those of climate change; • Contaminants of emerging concerns (including but not limited to antibiotic resistant microorganisms or genes, microplastics/nanoplastics, electronic wastes, light, and noise) and/or their biological, ecological, or human health effects; • Laboratory and field studies on the remediation/mitigation of environmental pollution via new techniques and with clear links to biological, ecological, or human health effects; • Modeling of pollution processes, patterns, or trends that is of clear environmental and/or human health interest; • New techniques that measure and examine environmental occurrences, transport, behavior, and effects of pollutants within the environment or the laboratory, provided that they can be clearly used to address problems within regional or global environmental compartments.