Environmental Earth Sciences最新文献

{"title":"Global water-risk signals and public search interest: a country-year analysis of NASA POWER hydroclimate indices and google trends, 2004–2025","authors":"Dmitry Erokhin,&nbsp;Nadejda Komendantova","doi":"10.1007/s12665-026-13132-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12665-026-13132-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Public attention to water-related hazards is shaped by the interaction of physical conditions, lived experience, media coverage, institutional communication, and access to digital information. This study examines how hydroclimatic anomalies correspond with public information-seeking behavior by constructing a global country-year panel covering 2004–2025. Six hydroclimatic screening indices derived from NASA POWER meteorological data, including drought, flood and extreme rainfall, water deficit, heat-related water stress, hydroclimatic volatility, and overall water risk, are matched with corresponding Google Trends topics. Heat-related water stress shows the strongest contemporaneous association with search interest, followed by flood and extreme rainfall, indicating that visible and immediately experienced hazards are particularly likely to stimulate online information seeking. The fixed-effects results reinforce this ordering and show that changes in hydroclimatic conditions are reflected in variations in search salience within countries over time. The analysis also reveals substantial geographical heterogeneity, demonstrating that the relationship between physical anomalies and public attention depends on national and local contexts. Country-year comparisons identify both convergence, where elevated hydroclimatic risk coincides with heightened search interest, and divergence, where environmental and informational signals follow different trajectories. These findings contribute to socio-hydrological research by integrating physical and digital indicators within a harmonized global framework. Google Trends is most valuable as a complementary measure of public information seeking that can help identify where hydroclimatic conditions become socially visible and where mismatches warrant closer investigation using local environmental, institutional, media, and communication data.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"85 15","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-026-13132-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148926906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Engineering serpentinite-derived materials for sustainable water remediation: activation pathways, surface engineering, and adsorption–photocatalytic applications—a review","authors":"Mostafa R. Abukhadra‬,&nbsp;Seham M. Hamed,&nbsp;Amira S. Diab,&nbsp;Ahmed A. Allam,&nbsp;Wail Al Zoubi,&nbsp;Hassan A. Rudayni","doi":"10.1007/s12665-026-13073-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12665-026-13073-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The growing deterioration of water quality caused by emerging contaminants has intensified the search for efficient, low-cost, and sustainable remediation materials. Among natural mineral resources, serpentinite has attracted increasing attention because of its abundance, Mg-rich layered silicate structure, hydroxyl-rich surface chemistry, and high potential for physicochemical modification. This review provides a comprehensive and integrative assessment of serpentinite-derived materials as multifunctional platforms for water remediation, linking mineralogical characteristics with material engineering strategies and environmental applications. The review first examines the crystal structure, polymorphism, surface functional groups, charge behavior, and textural properties of serpentine minerals and explains how these features control adsorption reactivity and interfacial interactions with aqueous pollutants. It then analyzes the physicochemical mechanisms governing pollutant removal, including surface complexation, ion coordination, dissolution-assisted immobilization, and precipitation pathways. Particular attention is given to material-engineering strategies that transform raw serpentinite into high-performance remediation materials, including thermal activation, acid and alkali modification, mechanochemical treatment, exfoliation into nanosheets, nanostructuring, and organic or inorganic surface functionalization. These modifications significantly enhance surface area, defect density, reactive hydroxyl environments, and pollutant accessibility, enabling remarkable adsorption capacities and improved catalytic interfaces. The review also highlights the emerging role of serpentinite as a support matrix and precursor for photocatalytic composites, where its surface chemistry facilitates pollutant preconcentration, catalyst dispersion, and charge-transfer processes. The synthesis of recent advances reveals key structure–property–function relationships that govern adsorption and photocatalytic performance and identifies major research opportunities in hybrid systems, emerging contaminant removal, and scalable environmental technologies.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"85 15","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-026-13073-2.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148926843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multi‑strata hydraulic fracturing via surface vertical wells for rockburst mitigation in an extra‑thick coal seam under a protective layer: a case study","authors":"Fangzhou Lu,&nbsp;Linming Dou,&nbsp;Leilei Jian,&nbsp;Yanjiang Chai,&nbsp;Jinrong Cao,&nbsp;Jiabin Meng,&nbsp;Yusheng Zhang,&nbsp;Xinyuan Tian","doi":"10.1007/s12665-026-13125-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12665-026-13125-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In extra-thick coal seams under a protective layer, the advanced coal mass (ETUPAC) may experience stress recovery and even abnormal concentration after a prolonged mining cessation, leading to rockburst occurrences under strong mining-induced tremors. In this study, a 'combined cantilever + voussoir beam' overburden structure model was established, and a surface vertical well multi‑strata hydraulic fracturing (SVMSHF) method was proposed to regulate the overburden structure for rockburst control. The proposed method was validated through engineering practice at the Haishiwan coal mine. The results show that under the combined effects of the rotation of the 'combined cantilever' and the pressure arch formed by the high-position key strata, the goaf above the ETUPAC was progressively compacted. The vertical stress in the ETUPAC increased from 4.73 MPa to 29.18 MPa, which is 25.94% higher than the initial stress level. After SVMSHF treatment, fractures propagated along the direction of the maximum principal stress (NE154°), with a single-wing fracture length exceeding 100 m and a vertical influence range of approximately 54.8 m. Breakage of both the rock strata and the optical fiber cables were observed at a depth of -438 m. Within the ETUPAC area, the maximum microseismic event frequency density decreased from 130 events/m² to 54 events/m², representing a reduction of 41.5%. The spatial distribution of microseismic events became more uniform, stress concentration was significantly alleviated, and dynamic manifestations in the corresponding roadways were notably weakened.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"85 15","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-026-13125-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148926975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Regional identification of groundwater-induced land subsidence using integrated surface and subsurface observations","authors":"Hongwei Sang,&nbsp;Ke Fang,&nbsp;Qimeng Liu,&nbsp;Liang Yuan,&nbsp;Bin Shi","doi":"10.1007/s12665-026-13113-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12665-026-13113-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Groundwater-induced land subsidence is one of the most widespread geohazards associated with excessive groundwater exploitation, characterized by broad spatial extent and significant socio-economic impacts. However, conventional point-based monitoring techniques are unable to characterize the regional distribution of groundwater-induced subsidence. To address this limitation, this study integrates Persistent Scatterer Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PS-InSAR), terrestrial water storage (TWS), and distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS) to establish a regional-to-stratigraphic framework for identifying groundwater-induced land subsidence and interpreting its subsurface deformation characteristics. First, PS-InSAR was employed to derive the regional surface deformation patterns. Subsequently, the temporal correspondence between InSAR-derived deformation and regional TWS variations was quantified using Pearson correlation analysis to identify areas strongly associated with groundwater-induced subsidence. Finally, borehole DFOS observations were used to identify the dominant compressible strata responsible for subsurface deformation. A case study in Suzhou, China, shows that surface deformation exhibited a strong temporal correspondence with regional TWS during periods of intensive groundwater exploitation, whereas this correspondence weakened following groundwater recovery because of delayed consolidation within low-permeability strata. The borehole observations further indicate that the dominant deformation is concentrated within the Ad2 and Ad3 aquitards adjacent to the Af2 confined aquifer. Overall, the proposed framework links regional surface deformation with depth-dependent subsurface deformation, providing an effective approach for investigating groundwater-induced land subsidence and supporting groundwater management and geohazard assessment.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"85 15","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-026-13113-x.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148926730","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Stability control and support optimization for large-span underground caverns in fractured rock masses under low in-situ stress","authors":"Xiao Huang,&nbsp;Zetao Yu,&nbsp;Meiling Tian,&nbsp;Rongsheng Lin,&nbsp;Qiang Li,&nbsp;Chong Shi","doi":"10.1007/s12665-026-13124-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12665-026-13124-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The rapid expansion of pumped storage power stations in China highlights a critical engineering challenge: ensuring the stability of large-span underground caverns excavated in intensely fractured, mosaic-fragmented rock masses under low in-situ stress. Taking the Liyang Pumped Storage Power Station as a case study, this research systematically investigates cavern instability mechanisms and corresponding support control technologies. Field investigations and theoretical analysis identify three predominant failure modes: block fall, crown collapse, and sidewall sliding. Cavern geometry and construction sequences were optimized via coupled Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) and Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations, indicating a project-specific recommended rise-span ratio of 0.235–0.314 for a 25.5 m span and a recommended spacing of 40–50 m between the main and auxiliary caverns. Mechanistic evaluations further clarify the differentiated reinforcement effects of support elements using block beam thrust line and compressed arch theories; specifically, inclined bolts stabilize the arch by enhancing horizontal thrust, while vertical bolts improve load-bearing capacity through layer-integration effects. Guided by these insights, a collaborative support system—integrating mortar bolts, prestressed anchor cables, and steel arch ribs—was developed and implemented. Both field monitoring and numerical validation confirm that this system effectively constrains surrounding rock deformation and ensures construction safety. This work establishes a systematic, practical design framework for similar large-span underground projects in complex geological environments.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"85 15","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-026-13124-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148926625","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Source-pathway-sink controls on heavy-metal contamination in urban soils: Insights from environmental magnetism and machine learning","authors":"Adamu John,&nbsp;Nur Azwin Ismail,&nbsp;Mbuotidem D. Dick,&nbsp;Rosli Saad,&nbsp;Cyril Gwazah Afuwai,&nbsp;Najeebullah Yahuza","doi":"10.1007/s12665-026-13114-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12665-026-13114-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Urban roadside soils are important repositories of traffic-derived contaminants; however, the coupled influence of anthropogenic emissions, contaminant transport, and soil-controlled retention processes remains insufficiently understood, particularly in rapidly urbanizing environments. This study developed and validated an integrated Source-Pathway-Sink framework by combining environmental magnetism, heavy-metal geochemistry, geotechnical characterization, spatial modelling, multivariate statistical analysis, and machine-learning techniques to investigate roadside contamination in Minna, North-Central Nigeria. Low- and high-frequency magnetic susceptibility, heavy-metal concentrations, contamination indices, and geotechnical parameters were integrated to evaluate contaminant distribution, transport, and retention behaviour. Spatial analyses revealed pronounced contamination gradients, with increase low-frequency magnetic susceptibility (χlf ) and heavy-metal concentrations occurring adjacent to major road corridors and decreasing systematically with increasing distance from traffic sources, confirming the dominant influence of vehicular emissions. Strong magnetic-geochemical relationships, particularly between χlf and Lead (Pb), demonstrated that magnetic susceptibility is a reliable proxy for traffic-derived contamination. Five-fold cross-validation of Simple Linear Regression and Random Forest models further confirmed the predictive capability of χlf for estimating the Heavy Metal Pollution Index (HPI). Vertical retention analyses showed maximum contaminant confinement within the 10–20 cm soil horizon, where low permeability, high plasticity, and enhanced adsorption capacity promoted contaminant accumulation. The proposed Vertical Retention Capacity Index (VRCI), supported by multivariate statistical analyses, successfully differentiated anthropogenic contaminant inputs from soil-controlled retention processes. The integrated SPWS framework provides a robust, rapid, and cost-effective approach for urban roadside contamination assessment, offering a transferable methodology for environmental monitoring, pollution mitigation, and sustainable urban planning in rapidly urbanizing regions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"85 15","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-026-13114-w.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148926623","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"CO₂ migration and storage performance in the offshore Hammam Faraun member, Gulf of Suez, Egypt","authors":"Heba Atef,&nbsp;Mrityunjay Singh,&nbsp;Günter Zimmermann,&nbsp;Arno Zang,&nbsp;Ingo Sass","doi":"10.1007/s12665-026-13048-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12665-026-13048-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Geological storage of CO₂ requires understanding how reservoir properties and operational parameters influence plume migration, pressure evolution, and long-term containment security. This study applies fully three-dimensional, physics-based simulations of continuous supercritical CO₂ injection into the Hammam Faraun member in the Gulf of Suez using COMSOL Multiphysics. A sensitivity analysis workflow was designed to include three scenarios to focus on the effects of fault permeability anisotropy, injector location, and operational parameters, including injection rate and the Brooks-Corey exponent (λ), on the dynamic behavior of CO₂ in the porous medium. Results show that fault permeability anisotropy exerts control on plume size and geometry, with enhanced fault permeability in the z-direction. Injector locations strongly govern CO₂ plume geometry and propagation along faults. Injection rate influences plume size and migration extent in the reservoir and faulted zone. Variations in λ showed less influence on CO₂ propagation and plume geometry. Despite these contrasts, well-bore pressures maintained consistent values across all cases, stabilizing between ~ 13.8 and 14.8 MPa after 100 years of simulation time. The injector locations and injection rates influence the CO₂ propagation more noticeably than fault permeability anisotropy and Brooks-Corey exponent, λ. Total amount of injected CO₂ is estimated to be ~ 7.9 Mt over 25 years injection period. This study provides a first reference case of a dynamic model for offshore CO₂ storage in the Gulf of Suez. Hence, this research contributes to Egypt’s decarbonization goals and highlights the application of geological storage of CO₂ in offshore reservoirs.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"85 15","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-026-13048-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148926610","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Computer vision-based system of vibration monitoring for early-warning signals in dam breach","authors":"I-Hui Chen,&nbsp;Su-Chin Chen,&nbsp;Rui-Jia Yang","doi":"10.1007/s12665-026-13117-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12665-026-13117-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study demonstrates both displacement and vibration monitoring of earth dams undergoing breach events using a computer vision-based measurement monitoring (CVMM) system. The system comprises a microcomputer equipped with computer vision algorithms to measure and compute changes in pixels of the chessboard images with 100 frames per second. In the study, the CVMM system was applied to indoor shake table and in-situ dam test using the analysis of vibration data from displacement, velocity, and acceleration. When dam breaching in the in-situ test, the maximum vertical displacement in the Y axis of the chessboard recorded by the CVMM system was 26.77 cm before the chessboard collapsed. There are two indicators evaluated for the dam breach in the case study. First is the amount of cumulative displacement that continued to increase until dam failure occurred. Second is the instantaneous energy of Hilbert–Huang Transform that showed a significant surge for an initial phase of dam breach. Consequently, the innovative CVMM system enables simultaneous monitoring of surface displacements, vibrations, and images. The vibration frequency of the CVMM instrument ranges from 0.1 to 50 Hz in the shake table and in-situ dam test, suggesting a non-contact monitoring and early-warning method in the dam breach test.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"85 15","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-026-13117-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148926624","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analysis of hydrogeochemical processes regulating groundwater quality in a tropical agricultural landscape of northwestern Mexico","authors":"Yaneth A. Bustos-Terrones,&nbsp;Omar A. Mendoza-Aguilar,&nbsp;Juan G. Loaiza,&nbsp;Jesús Gabriel Rangel-Peraza,&nbsp;Blenda Ramirez-Pereda,&nbsp;Tonni Agustiono Kurniawan,&nbsp;Jesús Estrada-Manjarrez,&nbsp;María Neftalí Rojas-Valencia","doi":"10.1007/s12665-026-13104-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12665-026-13104-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study assesses the hydrochemical and groundwater quality characteristics of the Mocorito River Aquifer (MRA), located in a tropical agricultural region of northwestern Mexico. A ten-year groundwater quality dataset (2012–2022) from seven monitoring sites was analyzed to evaluate seasonal and interannual hydrochemical variability, identify recent drought-related effects, and assess the influence of anthropogenic activities on groundwater quality. Hydrochemical parameters were evaluated using hydrogeochemical characterization, Water Quality Index (WQI), Piper and USSL diagrams, and multivariate statistical analyzes to identify spatial patterns and dominant controlling processes. The results revealed significant spatial heterogeneity in groundwater quality, with agricultural zones exhibiting the greatest deterioration due to intensive fertilization, excessive irrigation, and the leaching of dissolved salts and fertilizer-derived ions into the aquifer, while urban areas were mainly affected by microbiological contamination. Hydrogeochemical analyzes indicated that groundwater chemistry is controlled by the interaction of natural geogenic processes, including carbonate and silicate dissolution and ion exchange, together with anthropogenic pressures. The study demonstrates that agricultural practices intensify these natural hydrogeochemical processes, accelerating groundwater salinization and quality degradation in vulnerable areas of the aquifer. Although the MRA generally maintains good-to-moderate groundwater quality, localized zones present severe deterioration that limits its suitability for drinking and irrigation purposes. These findings highlight the importance of long-term groundwater monitoring and integrated management strategies to mitigate increasing agricultural impacts and improve the sustainability and resilience of aquifer systems under climatic and anthropogenic stress.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"85 15","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-026-13104-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148926261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Artificial intelligence for microplastic pollution monitoring, predictive modeling, and risk assessment: advances, challenges, and future perspectives","authors":"Obinna Chigoziem Akakuru,&nbsp;Patrick Alexander Ray,&nbsp;Uzochi Bright Onyeanwuna,&nbsp;Moses O. Eyankware,&nbsp;Godwin O. Aigbadon,&nbsp;Adedibu Sunny Akingboye,&nbsp;Kenneth O. Iheme,&nbsp;Ayatu Usman,&nbsp;Chinyere C. Amadi,&nbsp;Ifeyinwa J. Ofoh,&nbsp;Samuel O. Onyekuru,&nbsp;Alexander I. Opara,&nbsp;Bernerd E. B. Akudinobi,&nbsp;Thomas J. Algeo","doi":"10.1007/s12665-026-13075-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12665-026-13075-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Microplastic (MP) pollution constitutes a pervasive and complex environmental crisis, with particles infiltrating ecosystems globally and posing multifaceted risks to ecological integrity and human health. The inherent heterogeneity of MPs (in size, shape, polymer type, and degree of weathering) coupled with their presence in complex matrices, presents formidable analytical challenges that constrain traditional detection, quantification, and source-tracking methods. This review synthesizes the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in overcoming these bottlenecks and advancing every facet of MP research. This review details how AI-driven computer vision automates the morphological analysis of MPs, while ML algorithms enhance the speed and accuracy of spectroscopic polymer identification. Beyond analytics, AI facilitates predictive modeling of MP fate and transport, enables intelligent source apportionment, and optimizes emerging remediation technologies. Using the United States as a critical case study, we examine the interplay between a fragmented regulatory landscape and AI innovation. However, significant challenges persist, including data scarcity, algorithmic limitations, and the gap between laboratory validation and field deployment. The reviewed findings argue that the integration of AI represents a necessary paradigm shift, moving from descriptive observation to predictive and prescriptive science. For this potential to be fully realized, concerted efforts in standardized data generation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the development of transparent, robust AI frameworks are urgently required to inform effective mitigation policies and remediation strategies on a global scale.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"85 15","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-026-13075-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148928084","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}