This study was conducted to investigate the underlying physical transport mechanisms of microplastics over submerged canopies across a range of flow conditions common in the natural environment. The study determined and compared the mixing and dispersion processes for microplastics and solutes utilizing fluorometric tracing techniques. A hydrodynamic model was developed based on the advection-dispersion equation for quantifying microplastic mixing in submerged canopies. Longitudinal dispersion coefficients for neutrally buoyant microplastics (polyethylene) and solutes were significantly correlated within submerged model vegetation irrespective of the complexity of the flow regime. Hydrodynamic and solute transport models were shown to be capable of robust predictions of mixing for neutrally buoyant microplastics in environmental flows over a canopy, facilitating a new approach to quantify microplastic transport and fate.

Water Resources Research. May 2023

Niche differentiation of Mucoromycotinian and Glomeromycotinian arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi along a 2-million-year soil chronosequence

Thomas M. Mansfield, Felipe E. Albornoz, Megan H. Ryan, Gary D. Bending & Rachel J. Standish