water-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Marine Plastic Pollution: Recent Advances and Future Challenges

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Oceans and Coastal Zones".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 March 2026 | Viewed by 1413

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Systems Engineering and Computers (INESC), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: remote sensing; coastal environment; marine pollution; nearshore processes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Earth and Sea Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
Interests: remote sensing; marine pollution; water pollutant; environmental monitoring; hydrodynamics models

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Marine litter is a growing global issue affecting both human health and marine ecosystems; moreover, negative impacts are evident in coastal economies. Despite several policy initiatives and scientific studies having been carried out to identify marine litter sources and evaluate the applicability of monitoring techniques, significant gaps remain.

This Special Issue focuses on recent advances and future challenges in understanding and addressing marine plastic pollution, including its sources, behavior, environmental and socio-economic impacts. Additionally, to carry out innovative mitigation strategies, we will focus on the applicability of monitoring techniques (via remote sensing and/or hydrodynamic models), identifying the main advances and limitations.

As the title of the Special Issue is “Marine Plastic Pollution: Recent Advances and Future Challenges”, high-quality research papers, review articles, and case studies related, but not limited, to the following topics are welcome:

  • The state of the art in scientific research related to marine litter;
  • Identifying and quantifying marine litter sources and hotspots;
  • Fate and transport mechanisms of macro- and microplastics in riverine and marine environments;
  • Impact of marine litter on marine ecosystem;
  • Monitoring methods using, e.g., remote sensing, hydrodynamic models, citizen science, etc.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Umberto Andriolo
Guest Editor

Dr. Laura Corbari
Guest Editor Assistant

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2600 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

  • marine litter
  • microplastics
  • macroplastics
  • plastic pollution
  • marine ecosystems
  • monitoring techniques
  • hydrodynamic models
  • environmental impact
  • socio-economic impact
  • remote sensing

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

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

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

25 pages, 6532 KB  
Article
Representing Small Shallow Water Estuary Hydrodynamics to Uncover Litter Transport Patterns
by Lubna Benchama Ahnouch, Frans Buschman, Helene Boisgontier, Ana Bio, Luis R. Vieira, Sara C. Antunes, Gary F. Kett, Isabel Sousa-Pinto and Isabel Iglesias
Water 2025, 17(18), 2698; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17182698 - 12 Sep 2025
Viewed by 1213
Abstract
Plastic pollution is an increasing global concern, with estuaries being especially vulnerable as transition zones between freshwater and marine systems. These ecosystems often accumulate large amounts of waste, affecting wildlife and water quality. This study focuses on analysing the circulation patterns of the [...] Read more.
Plastic pollution is an increasing global concern, with estuaries being especially vulnerable as transition zones between freshwater and marine systems. These ecosystems often accumulate large amounts of waste, affecting wildlife and water quality. This study focuses on analysing the circulation patterns of the Ave Estuary, a small, shallow system on Portugal’s north-western coast, and their influence on litter transport and distribution. This site was selected for installing an aquatic litter removal technology under the EU-funded MAELSTROM project. A 2DH hydrodynamic model using Delft3D FM, coupled with the Wflow hydrological model, was implemented and validated. Various scenarios were simulated to assess estuarine dynamics and pinpoint zones prone to litter accumulation and flood risk. The results show that tidal action and river discharge mainly drive the estuary’s behaviour. Under low discharge, floating litter should be mostly transported toward the ocean, while high discharge conditions should result in litter movement at all depths due to stronger currents. High water levels and flooding occur mainly upstream and in specific low-lying areas near the mouth. Low-velocity zones, which can favour litter accumulation, were found around the main channel and on the western margin near the estuary’s mouth, even during high flows. These findings highlight persistent accumulation zones, even under extreme event conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Plastic Pollution: Recent Advances and Future Challenges)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop