Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 13, 2026
Sampling, Sorting, and Characterizing Microplastics in Aquatic Environments with High Suspended Sediment Loads and Large Floating Debris
Published on: July 28, 2018
Abundance of microplastics and nanoplastics in urban atmosphere
Tafeng Hu1, Chongchong Zhang1,2, Yuqing Zhu1
1State Key Laboratory of Loess Science, National Observation and Research Station of Regional Ecological Environment Change and Comprehensive Management in the Guanzhong Plain, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China.
Abstract:
Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) are emerging environmental pollutants, yet their behavior in the atmosphere remains poorly understood. Using an innovative method capable of detecting plastic particles as small as 200 nanometers, we quantified MPs and NPs in aerosols, dry and wet deposition, and resuspension in two Chinese megacities, Guangzhou and Xi'an. Airborne concentrations reached 1.8 × 105 MPs per cubic meter and 5.0 × 104 NPs per cubic meter in Guangzhou and 1.4 × 105 MPs per cubic meter and 3.0 × 104 NPs per cubic meter in Xi'an. Estimates revealed a variation of two to five orders of magnitude in MP and NP fluxes across major atmospheric compartments, dominated by road dust resuspension and rainfall-driven wet precipitation. Plastic particles were more heterogeneously mixed in deposition samples than in aerosols and resuspension, indicating enhanced aggregation and removal. These results provide an integrated assessment of MPs and NPs in urban atmospheric processes and offer critical insights into their transformation, fate, and potential implication for climate, ecosystems, and human health.
