Spatiotemporal Distribution Of Microplastics In The Protected Transboundary Thaya/Dyje River (Central Europe) - Implications Of Hydrological Connectivity For Microplastic Monitoring
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https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1946645 <-- shared paper
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https://phys.org/news/2025-04-alarming-microplastic-pollution-europe-great.html <-- shared technical article
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https://www.ehn.org/plastic-waste-hides-in-plain-sight-across-europe-s-rivers <-- shared technical media article
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https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-64361714 <-- shared media article
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H/T @Ronald Pöppl | Senior Researcher (BOKU University Vienna)
“Microplastic (MP) concentrations in rivers are highly dynamic, varying across space, depth, and hydrological conditions, yet conventional monitoring approaches often capture only a fraction of this variability. This study investigated the spatio-temporal distribution of microplastics along a 30 km reach of the hydrologically regulated Thaya/Dyje River within the transboundary Thayatal/Podyjí National Park. A total of 35 large-volume water samples (approximately 5 m3 each) were collected during November 2024 and July 2025, including longitudinal, lateral, near-bed, and tributary sampling. A comprehensive QA/QC procedure, including blank correction and recovery experiments (n = 22), was applied to support the reliability of the dataset. Mean MP concentrations were relatively low, averaging 8.18 ± 5.32 MP m−3 in the Thaya/Dyje River and 3.14 ± 0.94 MP m−3 in tributaries entering the park. However, pronounced longitudinal, lateral, and inter-campaign variability was observed. MP concentrations showed relationships with flow velocity and travel-time-corrected discharge, while the direction and strength of hydrological relationships differed between campaigns. The relationship between flow velocity and MP concentration also differed significantly between campaigns suggesting shifts between retention- and remobilization-dominated transport. Thus, transport patterns varied with hydrological conditions, including antecedent flow histories, rather than following simple downstream accumulation. These findings highlight the importance of spatially resolved, large-volume sampling for riverine microplastic monitoring and show that variations in transport, temporary storage, remobilization, and incomplete mixing can be interpreted within a hydrological connectivity framework. The relatively low contamination levels also offer a baseline for future monitoring of microplastic pollution in protected and comparable freshwater environments…”
#spatial #mapping #GIS #spatiotemporal #spatialanalysis #microplastics #Transboundary #Thaya #Dyje #Thayatal #Podyjí #europe #CzechRepublic #Austria #River #water #nationalpark #hydrology #waterquality #waterresources #HydrologicalConnectivity #monitoring #nurdles #HiddenPollution #pollution #PathogenCarriers #sampling #instrumentation #transport #network #flow #streamflow #riverine #remobilisation #contamination #freshwater #environments #habitat #ecosystems #ecology #humanimpacts
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