{"id":197553,"date":"2025-05-26T12:19:22","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T11:19:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.geo-zs.si\/projekt\/gwmicroplast-izboljsane-metode-za-ugotavljanje-transportnih-procesov-mikroplastike-v-virih-podzemne-vode\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T14:19:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T13:19:18","slug":"gwmicroplast-izboljsane-metode-za-ugotavljanje-transportnih-procesov-mikroplastike-v-virih-podzemne-vode","status":"publish","type":"projekt","link":"https:\/\/www.geo-zs.si\/en\/projekt\/gwmicroplast-izboljsane-metode-za-ugotavljanje-transportnih-procesov-mikroplastike-v-virih-podzemne-vode\/","title":{"rendered":"GWMicroPlast - Improved methods for the identification of microplastic transport processes in groundwater sources"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Groundwater is the most important source of drinking water in Slovenia; however, its exposure to emerging contaminants remains poorly understood. Among these contaminants, microplastics have attracted increasing attention as they have been detected in almost all environmental compartments, while their occurrence, transport, and fate in groundwater systems remain insufficiently explored. When it comes to understanding the circulation of microplastics in the geosphere and their transport through different geological media, microplastics represent one of the greatest challenges among modern pollutants.<\/p>\n

The GWMicroPlast project focuses on developing new methods for monitoring microplastics (MP) in groundwater (GW) and on improving our understanding of the pathways by which microplastic particles migrate from the surface environment into aquifers. The research combines field investigations, innovative sampling technologies, advanced laboratory analyses, and experimental studies of transport processes.<\/p>\n

Using an innovative approach and various tools, part of the research will focus on innovations in sampling and analyzing MP in groundwater, with a particular emphasis on investigating the dynamic processes of MP in the unsaturated zone (UZ) of gravel aquifers through experimental work in a lysimeter. The transport parameters of different MP categories (filaments, fragments, films, pellets, and fluorescent microspheres) will be analyzed by conducting a tracer experiment in a field laboratory\u2014a lysimeter.<\/p>\n

The project will analyse the entire pathway of MP through the aquifer, from the source, the transport within UZ, to determination in the GW. Through various statistical analyses (multivariate and geostatistical), inverse numerical (Hydrus1-D) and spatial (GIS) modelling, we will establish the relationship between the occurrence of MP and other contaminants, their properties, their source, their dynamics in the GW and the hydrogeological conditions. These new insights will allow comparison with globally available data and close knowledge gaps regarding the transport of MP in aquifers. The project brings a number of innovations that will encourage further research to optimise and innovate in the field of MP contamination of aquifers.<\/p>\n

Main project objectives:<\/strong><\/p>\n