Microplastic (MP) pollution has become a global issue, attracting attention from stakeholders around the globe. Knowledge of MPs has been substantially advanced in recent years. Newly developed analytical technologies allow better characterization of MPs, but characterizing nanosized plastic particles remains challenging. Transport of plastic debris from land to oceans is a key driver for marine plastic pollution, and the relative contributions from riverine runoff and atmospheric deposition must be further quantified. Another lingering issue is whether MPs can bioaccumulate and biomagnify along a food web, which demands further investigations. Currently there is no health risk assessment for human exposure to MPs, probably due to the lack of reference threshold values. Hence, establishing reference threshold values for MPs should be a long-term and continuing task for the scientific community. Recent progress in quantifying the vertical settling of plastic debris in deep oceans has brightened the prospect of finding the "Missing Plastics", at least partially. Future efforts are urgently needed in developing novel analytical techniques, conducting additional laboratory and field measurements, and formulating robust models to better understand the occurrence, fate, and effects of MPs on the planet.

Lian-Jun Bao

Lei Mai

Liang-Ying Liu

Xiang-Fei Sun

Eddy Y. Zeng

Environmental Science & Technology Letters

Published as soon as accepted and summarized in monthly issues, Environmental Science & Technology Letters is an international forum for brief communications on experimental or theoretical results of exceptional timeliness in all aspects of environmental science (pure and applied), and short reviews on emerging environmental science & technology topics. Manuscripts describing cross-disciplinary research or addressing emerging issues are of particular interest.

Environmental Science & Technology Letters is an international forum for brief communications on experimental or theoretical results of exceptional timeliness in all aspects of environmental science (both pure and applied). Published monthly, it features manuscripts that describe cross-disciplinary research or address emerging issues, as well as short reviews on emerging topics in environmental science and technology.

《Environmental Science and Technology Letters》是一个国际性论坛，专注于环境科学（包括基础和应用）各个方面的实验或理论结果的简要交流。该期刊每月发布已接受的稿件，并总结成月刊，特别关注跨学科研究或新兴问题的稿件。此外，期刊也欢迎关于新兴环境科学与技术主题的短评。

Category	Quartile
环境科学与生态学	2
环境科学与生态学, 工程环境	2
环境科学与生态学, 环境科学	2

Microplastics on the Planet: Current Knowledge and Challenges

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Category	Quartile
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES	1