Behaviour and transport of microplastic in stream and groundwater systems

SFB 1357

From 01/2019 to 01/2023

Principal Investigator: Sven Frei, Ben Gilfedder, Jan Fleckenstein

Rivers and streams are considered to be the main input path of microplastics (MP) into marine ecosystems. However, very little is known about the transport behaviour and the fate of MPs in fluvial systems. There are also large knowledge gaps concerning the migration of MP at the interface between surface flow and the hyporheic zone (HZ, interface between surface water and adjacent aquifers), as well as the mobility of MP within the HZ. In project B03, we aim to investigate the hydrodynamic transport behaviour of MP in fluvial systems including the HZ. In addition, the influence of biotic transport mechanisms on the sedimentation behaviour of MP will also be investigated. In the first phase of the CRC, we want to investigate this topic area for simple model systems.