Scientific study reveals how rivers in flood move plastics to the ocean

TL;DR

Rivers are identified as major routes for transporting plastics from continents to oceans, particularly during floods.
A study in Japan measured microplastic and mesoplastic concentrations during flood events in rivers with varied land uses.
Plastic concentrations increased by one to four orders of magnitude during high flow periods compared to low flow conditions.
Mesoplastics showed a more sensitive response to increased river flow than microplastics.
The study observed hysteresis loops, indicating higher plastic loads at the beginning of a flood event.
A significant percentage of the annual mesoplastic load was transported during a small fraction of the total time, highlighting the impact of extreme flood events.
The research provides direct, hourly observations during flood events, offering a rare quantitative dataset.

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