Global emission, atmospheric transport and deposition trends of microplastics originating from road traffic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Evangeliou ◽  
Henrik Grythe ◽  
Arve Kylling ◽  
Andreas Stohl
Keyword(s):  
Road Traffic ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Wear Particles ◽  
Global Trends ◽  
Road Traffic Emissions ◽  
Global Emission ◽  
Brake Wear Particles ◽  
The Alps ◽  
Human Stool

<p>Since the first reports on the presence of plastic debris in the marine environment in the early 70s (1), plastics have been steadily accumulating in the environment. The global production of plastics in 2019 reached 368 Mt (from 311 Mt in 2014 and 225 Mt in 2004), with the largest portion produced in Asia (51%) (2), whereas 10% is believed to end into the sea every year (3). As a result, plastics have been confirmed today in several freshwater (4), and terrestrial (5) ecosystems; they fragment into microplastics (MPs, 1 µm to 5 mm) (6) and nanoplastics (<1µm) (7) via physical processes (8). MP present has been now confirmed from the Alps (9) and the Pyrenees (10), as far as Antarctica (11) and the high Arctic (9). Consequently, MPs have been found to<br>affect coral reefs (12), marine (13) and terrestrial animals (14). Schwabl et al. (15) detected them in human stool, while a recent study by Ragusa et al. (16) reported that MPs were even found in all placental portions.<br>A smaller fraction of MPs originates from road traffic emissions (17). Kole et al. (18) reported global average emissions of tire wear particles (TWPs) of 0.81 kg year-1 per capita, about 6.1 million tonnes (~1.8% of total plastic production). Emissions of brake wear particles (BWPs) add another 0.5 million tonnes. TWPs and BWPs are produced via mechanical abrasion and corrosion (19). Here, we present global trends in emissions, transport and deposition of road MPs.</p><p>References:<br>1. Colton, J. B., et al. Science (80). 185, 491–497 (1974).<br>2. PlasticsEurope. https://www.plasticseurope.org/en/resources/market-data (2019).<br>3. Mattsson, K., et al. Impacts 17, 1712–1721 (2015).<br>4. Blettler, M. C. M., et al.Water Res. 143, 416–424 (2018).<br>5. Chae, Y. & An, Y. J. Environ. Pollut. 240, 387–395 (2018).<br>6. Peeken, I. et al. Nat. Commun. 9, (2018).<br>7. Wagner, S. & Reemtsma, T. Nat. Nanotechnol. 14, 300–301 (2019).<br>8. Gewert, B., et al. Environ. Sci. Process. Impacts 17, 1513–1521 (2015).<br>9. Bergmann, M. et al. Sci. Adv. 5, 1–11 (2019).<br>10. Allen, S. et al. Nat. Geosci. 12, 339–344 (2019).<br>11. González-Pleiter, M. et al. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 161, 1–6 (2020).<br>12. Lamb, J. B. et al. P Science (80-. ). 359, 460–462 (2018).<br>13. Wilcox, C., et al. Sci. Rep. 8, 1–11 (2018).<br>14. Harne, R. J. Anim. Res. 383–386 (2019) doi:10.30954/2277-940x.02.2019.25.<br>15. Schwabl, P. et al. Ann. Intern. Med. 171, 453–457 (2019).<br>16. Ragusa, A. et al. Environ. Int. 146, 106274 (2021).<br>17. Schwarz, A. E., et al. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 143, 92–100 (2019).<br>18. Jan Kole, P., et al. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 14, 1–4 (2017).<br>19. Penkała, M., et al. Environments 5, 9 (2018).</p><p> </p>

scholarly journals Atmospheric Transport, a Major Pathway of Microplastics to Remote Regions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Evangeliou ◽  
Henrik Grythe ◽  
Zbigniew Klimont ◽  
Chris Heyes ◽  
Sabine Eckhardt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Road Traffic ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
World Ocean ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Wear Particles ◽  
Major Pathway ◽  
Transport Efficiency ◽  
Brake Wear Particles ◽  
Brake Wear

In recent years, marine, freshwater and terrestrial pollution with microplastics has been discussed extensively, whereas atmospheric microplastic transport has been largely overlooked. Here, we present the first global simulation of atmospheric transport of microplastic particles produced by road traffic (TWPs – tire wear particles and BWPs – brake wear particles), a major source that can be quantified relatively well. We find a high transport efficiency of these particles to remote regions, such as the Arctic Ocean (14%). About 34% of the emitted coarse TWPs and 30% of the emitted coarse BWPs (100 kt yr-1 and 40 kt yr-1 respectively) were deposited in the World Ocean. These amounts are of similar magnitude as the total estimated terrestrial and riverine transport of TWPs and fibres to the ocean (64 kt yr-1). Atmospheric transport of microplastics is thus an underestimated threat to global terrestrial and marine ecosystems and affects air quality on a global scale, especially considering that other large but highly uncertain emissions of microplastics to the atmosphere exist. High latitudes and the Arctic are highlighted as an important receptor of mid-latitude emissions of road microplastics, which may imply a future climatic risk, considering their affinity to absorb solar radiation and accelerate melting.

scholarly journals Solute in high arctic glacier snow cover and its impact on runoff chemistry

1998 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 156-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Hodgkins ◽  
Martyn Tranter
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Total Concentration ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Sea Salt ◽  
Acidic Ph ◽  
Sea Salt Aerosol ◽  
Wet Snow ◽  
Potential Contributor ◽  
Arctic Glacier

The chemical composition of snow and meltwater in the 13 km2 catchment of Scott Turnerbreen, Svalbard, was investigated during the spring and summer of 1993. This paper assesses the provenance of solute in the snowpack and its impact on runoff chemistry. Dry snow contains 420μeql-1 of solute, is slightly acidic (pH 5.4) and is dominated by Na+ and Cl-. Wet snow is more dilute (total concentration 340μeql-1), and less acidic (pH 5.9). This is consistent with the elution of ions from the snowpack by meltwater. Snowpack solute can be partitioned into the following fractions: sea-salt aerosol, acid aerosol and crustal. About 98% of snowpack solute is sea salt, yielding 22000 kg km-2a-1. The behaviour of snowpack-derived Cl- in runoff is distinctive, peaking at over 800 μeql-1 early in the melt season as runoff picks up, before declining quasi-exponentially. This represents the discharge of snowmelt concentrated by elution within the snowpack which subsequently becomes relatively dilute. A solute yield of 140 kg km-2 a-1 can be attributed to anthropogenically generated acid aerosols, representing long-range atmospheric transport of pollutants, a potential contributor to Arctic runoff acidification.

Brake Wear Particle Size and Shape Analysis of Non-Asbestos Organic (NAO) and Semi Metallic Brake Pad

2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hussain, S. ◽  
M.K Abdul Hamid ◽  
A.R Mat Lazim ◽  
A.R. Abu Bakar
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
Wear Particle ◽  
Brake Disc ◽  
Wear Particles ◽  
Brake Pad ◽  
Brake Pads ◽  
Size And Shape ◽  
Brake Wear Particles ◽  
Brake Wear ◽  
Particle Size And Shape

Brake wear particles resulting from friction between the brake pad and disc are common in brake system. In this work brake wear particles were analyzed based on the size and shape to investigate the effects of speed and load applied to the generation of brake wear particles. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) was used to identify the size, shape and element compositions of these particles. Two types of brake pads were studied which are non-asbestos organic and semi metallic brake pads. Results showed that the size and shape of the particles generatedvary significantly depending on the applied brake load, and less significantly on brake disc speed. The wear particle becomes bigger with increasing applied brake pressure. The wear particle size varies from 300 nm to 600 µm, and contained elements such as carbon, oxygen, magnesium, aluminum, sulfur and iron.

scholarly journals A trajectory analysis of atmospheric transport of black carbon aerosols to Canadian High Arctic in winter and spring (1990–2005)

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 2221-2244 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Huang ◽  
S. L. Gong ◽  
S. Sharma ◽  
D. Lavoué ◽  
C. Q. Jia
Keyword(s):  
Regression Model ◽  
Black Carbon ◽  
North American ◽  
Emission Intensity ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Canadian High Arctic ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Annual Variations

Abstract. Black carbon (BC) particles accumulated in the Arctic troposphere and deposited over snow have significant effects on radiative forcing of the Arctic regional climate. Applying cluster analysis technique on 10-day backward trajectories, transport pathways affecting Alert (82.5° N, 62.5° W), Nunavut in Canada are identified in this work, along with the associated transport frequency. Based on the atmospheric transport frequency and the estimated BC emission intensity from surrounding regions, a linear regression model is constructed to investigate the inter-annual variations of BC observed at Alert in January and April, representative of winter and spring respectively, between 1990 and 2005. Strong correlations are found between BC concentrations predicted with the regression model and measured at Alert for both seasons (R2 equals 0.77 and 0.81 for winter and spring, respectively). Results imply that atmospheric transport and BC emission are the major contributors to the inter-annual variations in BC concentrations observed at Alert in the cold seasons for the 16-year period. Based on the regression model the relative contributions of regional BC emissions affecting Alert are attributed to the Eurasian sector, composed of the European Union and the former USSR, and the North American sector. Considering both seasons, the model suggests that Eurasia is the major contributor to the near-surface BC levels at the Canadian High Arctic site with an average contribution of over 85% during the 16-year period. In winter, the atmospheric transport of BC aerosols from Eurasia is found to be even more predominant with a multi-year average of 94%. The model estimates smaller contribution from the Eurasian sector in spring (70%) than that in winter. It is also found that the change in Eurasian contributions depends mainly on the reduction of emission intensity, while the changes in both emission and atmospheric transport contributed to the inter-annual variation of North American contributions.

scholarly journals Quantifying road traffic emissions embedded in a multi-objective traffic assignment model

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 648-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eloísa Macedo ◽  
Ricardo Tomás ◽  
Paulo Fernandes ◽  
Margarida C. Coelho ◽  
Jorge M. Bandeira
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Assignment ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Traffic Emissions ◽  
Multi Objective ◽  
Road Traffic Emissions ◽  
Assignment Model

scholarly journals Two lichens differing in element concentrations have similar spatial patterns of element concentrations responding to road traffic and soil input

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan-yuan Wu ◽  
Jing Gao ◽  
Guo-zhan Zhang ◽  
Run-kang Zhao ◽  
Ai-qin Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Inner Mongolia ◽  
Element Concentration ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Enrichment Factors ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
The Road ◽  
Element Concentrations ◽  
Road Traffic Emissions ◽  
Local Soil

Abstract Two epiphytic lichens (Xanthoria alfredii, XAa; X. ulophyllodes, XAu) and soil were sampled at three sites with varied distances to a road in a semiarid sandland in Inner Mongolia, China and analyzed for concentrations of 42 elements to assess the contribution of soil input and road traffic to lichen element burdens, and to compare element concentration differences between the two lichens. The study showed that multielement patterns, Fe:Ti and rare earth element ratios were similar between the lichen and soil samples. Enrichment factors (EFs) showed that ten elements (Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, K, P, Pb, S, Sb, and Zn) were enriched in the lichens relative to the local soil. Concentrations of most elements were higher in XAu than in XAa regardless of sites, and increased with proximity to the road regardless of lichen species. These results suggested that lichen element compositions were highly affected by soil input and road traffic. The narrow-lobed sorediate species were more efficient in particulate entrapment than the broad-lobed nonsorediate species. XAa and XAu are good bioaccumulators for road pollution in desert and have similar spatial patterns of element concentrations for most elements as response to road traffic emissions and soil input.

scholarly journals Integrating Modes of Transport in a Dynamic Modelling Approach to Evaluate Population Exposure to Ambient NO2 and PM2.5 Pollution in Urban Areas

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 2099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Otto Paul Ramacher ◽  
Matthias Karl
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Traffic Emissions ◽  
Exposure Model ◽  
Population Exposure ◽  
Road Traffic Emissions ◽  
Pollutant Concentrations

To evaluate the effectiveness of alternative policies and measures to reduce air pollution effects on urban citizen’s health, population exposure assessments are needed. Due to road traffic emissions being a major source of emissions and exposure in European cities, it is necessary to account for differentiated transport environments in population dynamics for exposure studies. In this study, we applied a modelling system to evaluate population exposure in the urban area of Hamburg in 2016. The modeling system consists of an urban-scale chemistry transport model to account for ambient air pollutant concentrations and a dynamic time-microenvironment-activity (TMA) approach, which accounts for population dynamics in different environments as well as for infiltration of outdoor to indoor air pollution. We integrated different modes of transport in the TMA approach to improve population exposure assessments in transport environments. The newly developed approach reports 12% more total exposure to NO2 and 19% more to PM2.5 compared with exposure estimates based on residential addresses. During the time people spend in different transport environments, the in-car environment contributes with 40% and 33% to the annual sum of exposure to NO2 and PM2.5, in the walking environment with 26% and 30%, in the cycling environment with 15% and 17% and other environments (buses, subway, suburban, and regional trains) with less than 10% respectively. The relative contribution of road traffic emissions to population exposure is highest in the in-car environment (57% for NO2 and 15% for PM2.5). Results for population-weighted exposure revealed exposure to PM2.5 concentrations above the WHO AQG limit value in the cycling environment. Uncertainties for the exposure contributions arising from emissions and infiltration from outdoor to indoor pollutant concentrations range from −12% to +7% for NO2 and PM2.5. The developed “dynamic transport approach” is integrated in a computationally efficient exposure model, which is generally applicable in European urban areas. The presented methodology is promoted for use in urban mobility planning, e.g., to investigate on policy-driven changes in modal split and their combined effect on emissions, population activity and population exposure.

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