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Microplastic and Macroplastic State of the Art - Coggle Diagram
Microplastic and Macroplastic
State of the Art
Main knowledge gaps identified
Only 20% of the studies have been made on freshwater systems
The mayority of the studies in freshwater systems has been developed since 2010
In Basin Analysis
Is needed to investigate the role of land use, surface friction and slope, and other factors on plastic transport.
In Data Collection
Develop harmonized data collection, analysis, and reporting tools.
A global river plastic database would benefit the scientific community and beyond
Lack of methodological and standarized protocols for macro, meso and microplastic sampling
It would be possible to make a
Plastic Debris Metadata Language
like the Ecological Metadata Language
In Biological Analysis
Biofouling of the particles or biostabilization of the sediment bed, should be examined in more detail
Biological processes that require a long time to occur are rarely included in the modeling and are usually based on unrealistic assumptions
Ingestion from a variety of organisms, including zooplankton and planktivorous fish should be examinated
Lack of studies analyzing the impact of microplastic pollution on freshwater mammals, reptiles, macrocrustaceans and bivalves.
Dominance of microplastic studies over macroplastic studies in freshwater environments worldwide
Evaluating plastic pollution are essential to understand
its potential for dam reservoirs to act as garbage retainers
The rate of growth in marine scientific production is more than 5 times higher than in freshwater ecosystems.
Biofouling parameterization adopted for microplastics
could not be directly validated
The use of optical imagery from Sentinel-2 or satellital imagery to detect plastic in the aquatic environment should be investigated.
Type of identified models
Mass-Balance
Strength
:check: An effective method to locally assess the total mass of plastics
:check: A quick answer to arrange the regulations
:check: Ability to consider plastics in two groups as primary and secondary
Weakness
:no_entry: Difficulty to consider all sources of plastics
:no_entry: Need more assumptions
:no_entry: Ignores physical properties, hydrodinamic events, and biological processes
Process-Based
Strength
:check: Easier to examine the effects of processes idividually
:check: Suppling more accurate data to understand the fate of microplastics in the water environment
Weakness
:no_entry: Difficulty while examining the processes that take a long time
Hybrid
Hydrodynamic & Process-Based
Strength
:check: The most compatible one with real life
:check: A very comprehensive approach to model the fate of plastics
Weakness
:no_entry: Difficulty to consider all processes
Hydrodynamic & Statistical
Strength
:check: Addition of the historical data
:check: Useful to estimate the sources and amount of plastics
Weakness
:no_entry: Ignores physical properties and biological processes
Hydrodynamic
Strength
:check: Prediction of the fate of microplastic caused by hydrodynamic events.
:check: Real-life compatibility in terms of oceanic events
:check: Possibility to be coupled with a sediment transport model
Weakness
:no_entry: Difficulty to include all hydrodinamic events.
:no_entry: Over/underestimated results due to lack of physical and biological processes
:no_entry: The necessity of different considerations for shallow deep areas
Statistical
Strength
:check: An effective method to obtain global review
:check: A quick method to identify accumulation locations
Weakness
:no_entry: Prediction based only on historical data
:no_entry: More sensitive to data shortage
:no_entry: Need more assumptions
:no_entry: Ignores physical properties, hydrodinamic events, and biological processes
Key Analysis Parameters
Shape and size
Horizontal movement due to wind and flow velocity
Vertical movement due to turbulence, rugosity of river bed
Density
Vegetation dynamics
Degradation for mechanical action in macroplastics
UV degradation
Biodegradation
Sinking velocity
Particle Diameter
Grain size on the bed material
Biostabilization of the sediment bed
Numerical models identified
Lagrangian Model
