About this Research Topic
Plastic pollution is an urgent environmental problem with a global scope and requires immediate action. We are just starting to understand the quantities and persistence of plastic particles in the environment and how they impact aquatic ecosystems. This Research Topic aims to provide the most recent and leading research on the occurrence, transport, fate, behaviour, and impact of macro, micro, and nanoplastics in freshwater environments. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
• Sources, pathways and sinks of plastic particles;
• Transport, fate and behaviour;
• Physical and chemical characteristics;
• Sampling and monitoring methods;
• Separation, pre-treatment, quantification, and characterization methods and technologies;
• Ecological impacts;
• Collection and removal/treatment technologies in the environment (please note that drinking water and wastewater treatment processes are not in the scope of this issue);
• Regulations, policies, and best practices; and,
• Citizen science.
This Research Topic is an initiative of the Inter-American Network of Academies of Sciences (IANAS) Water Program and is supported by a large group of leading international scientists.
• Sources, pathways and sinks of plastic particles;
• Transport, fate and behaviour;
• Physical and chemical characteristics;
• Sampling and monitoring methods;
• Separation, pre-treatment, quantification, and characterization methods and technologies;
• Ecological impacts;
• Collection and removal/treatment technologies in the environment (please note that drinking water and wastewater treatment processes are not in the scope of this issue);
• Regulations, policies, and best practices; and,
• Citizen science.
This Research Topic is an initiative of the Inter-American Network of Academies of Sciences (IANAS) Water Program and is supported by a large group of leading international scientists.
Keywords: Microplastics, nanoplastics, macroplastics, plastic pollution, terrestrial water environments, lakes, rivers, groundwater, stormwater
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
