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Hydrology
Special Issues
Recent Research Advances in Microplastics in Water and the Environment
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Recent Research Advances in Microplastics in Water and the Environment

A special issue of Hydrology (ISSN 2306-5338). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Resources and Risk Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 779

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Bangshuai Han

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Environment, Geology and Natural Resources, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47304, USA
Interests: hydrology; water resources; microplastics; climate change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Samuel Tenney

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973-5000, USA
Interests: interface sciences; catalysis; nanoscale chemical mapping and hyperspectral imaging
Dr. Mathew D. Simpson

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Environment, Geology and Natural Resources, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47304, USA
Interests: microfibers and nurdles (pre-production microplastics); particularly their distribution, weathering, and impact on ecosystems

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Microplastics have been found in abundance across the environment, from remote mountains to the deepest ocean. Scientists are still trying to understand the fate and transport of these human-made pollutants once they are released into the environment. Microplastic research is highly interdisciplinary, employing approaches from field observations and laboratory and bench scale experimentation to computational modeling. However, there are currently many research gaps, such as the lack of a standard analysis procedure, the lower quality of the reported data, and the lack of a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of the fate and transport of this type of pollutant in water systems and the terrestrial environment, highlighting the importance of this research area.

The goal of this Special Issue is to collect papers (original research articles and review papers) to provide insights into these research gaps.

This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that link the following themes:

  • Summary of current and emerging challenges in microplastic research in water bodies;
  • Novel approaches to collect and analyze microplastic particles in water bodies and the environment;
  • Hydrological simulation of microplastic transport and delivery at the watershed scale;
  • Fate and transport of microplastics in aquatic ecosystems and the terrestrial environment.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Dr. Bangshuai Han
Dr. Samuel Tenney
Dr. Mathew D. Simpson
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Hydrology is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fate and transport
  • microplastic pollution
  • experiment
  • modeling
  • water bodies
  • watershed

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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16 pages, 3311 KiB  
Article
Microplastic Pollution in Tropical River: Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy-Based Characterization of Abundance and Polymer Composition in Water and Sediments from Filobobos River, Mexico
by Gleybis Hernández-Morales, María Cristina López-Mendez, Alan Antonio Rico-Barragán, Jesús Pérez-Moreno, Carolina Peña-Montes, Luis Alberto Peralta-Pelaez and Humberto Raymundo González-Moreno
Hydrology 2025, 12(5), 124; https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology12050124 - 21 May 2025
Viewed by 145
Abstract
Veracruz is a megadiverse state facing great water resource management challenges. The contamination of water bodies with external materials of anthropogenic origin stands out, including those derived from plastic products, which are deemed ubiquitous, emerging contaminants that have gained notoriety in recent decades [...] Read more.
Veracruz is a megadiverse state facing great water resource management challenges. The contamination of water bodies with external materials of anthropogenic origin stands out, including those derived from plastic products, which are deemed ubiquitous, emerging contaminants that have gained notoriety in recent decades due to the extent and effects of their presence, persistence and distribution in aquatic ecosystems. Being a significant environmental threat, their presence, persistence and distribution in aquatic ecosystems are deserving of a more detailed study. This research focused on analyzing microplastic (MP) retention and characterization in environmental matrixes (water and sediment) in the Bobos River’s lower basin, also taking into account other water physicochemical parameters, including a pH range from slightly acidic (5.17) to slightly alkaline (8.94) as the maximum value and an average temperature of 28.87 °C (83.96 °F). MPs are most frequently found in the form of blue-colored fibers. A polymer analysis by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed that the most common polymer was polyethylene (PE), which is the main component of most agricultural mulch and agrochemical containers. This research aims to enhance the understanding of the plastic matter contamination of water bodies, pointing out the need for further and deeper research on this subject. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research Advances in Microplastics in Water and the Environment)
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30 pages, 10990 KiB  
Article
Numerical Modeling of the Concentration of Microplastics in Lakes and Rivers in Kazakhstan
by Natalya S. Salikova, María-Elena Rodrigo-Clavero, Lyudmila A. Makeyeva, Zinep M. Shaimerdenova and Javier Rodrigo-Ilarri
Hydrology 2025, 12(4), 93; https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology12040093 - 16 Apr 2025
Viewed by 315
Abstract
This research presents a detailed numerical modeling study focused on estimating the concentration of microplastics (MPs) in freshwater ecosystems. This research covers three lakes (Kopa, Zerendinskoye, and Borovoe) and the Yesil River, applying differential equations to model the spatial distribution and seasonal variations [...] Read more.
This research presents a detailed numerical modeling study focused on estimating the concentration of microplastics (MPs) in freshwater ecosystems. This research covers three lakes (Kopa, Zerendinskoye, and Borovoe) and the Yesil River, applying differential equations to model the spatial distribution and seasonal variations in MP concentrations. The methodology integrates field survey data collected during three different seasons (spring, summer, and autumn) from both sediment and water samples. The MP concentrations were found to follow an exponential decay pattern from the shore toward the center of the lakes, with higher concentrations near the shoreline. The modeling framework is calibrated using regression analysis, which provides the best-fit parameters for the distance–concentration curves. This study employs sensitivity analysis to justify the decay coefficient, resulting in a selected value of k = 0.09. Model performance is assessed using statistical metrics such as the root mean square error (RMSE) and the coefficient of determination (R2), ensuring accuracy in predicting MP concentrations across different environmental compartments. This work represents a novel contribution to the field by applying numerical modeling techniques to an understudied geographical area. The findings highlight significant seasonal and spatial variations in MP concentrations, emphasizing the need for comprehensive monitoring. This study’s results contribute valuable insights into the environmental behavior of MPs in freshwater systems and support efforts to develop effective management strategies to mitigate pollution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research Advances in Microplastics in Water and the Environment)
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