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Beaching model for buoyant marine debris in bore-driven swash
Summary
Researchers developed a simplified mathematical model to predict how buoyant marine debris — such as plastic fragments — becomes stranded on beaches through bore-driven swash, the process by which incoming waves wet the shoreline. Laboratory experiments validated the model and revealed that particle inertia and the timing and velocity at which debris enters the swash zone are the most critical factors determining whether debris beaches or returns to sea.
Marine debris pollution is a growing problem impacting aquatic ecosystems, coastal recreation, and human society. Beaches are known to be a sink for debris, and beaching needs to be accounted for in marine debris mass balances. The process of buoyant debris beaching is not sufficiently well understood in order to include this process yet. We develop a simplified model for buoyant marine debris transport in bore-driven swash (where the water wets the beach with each incoming wave). We validate the model with laboratory experiments and use the combined results from the model and experiments to understand the parameters that are important for dictating particle beaching. The most relevant parameters are the particle inertia and the timing and velocity with which debris particles enter the swash zone.