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Interaction Between Microplastic Particles and Submerged Vegetation Canopies in Waves Plus Current Environments
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Researchers experimentally examined how microplastic particles of varying size, shape, and density interact with submerged seagrass-like vegetation canopies under combined wave and current conditions, investigating how canopy structure modifies transport and accumulation patterns.
The pollution of the oceans by plastic waste is one of the biggest environmental disasters of the last century. Existing studies agree that the size, shape, and density of microplastic (MP) particles significantly influence their transport characteristics (Zhang 2017, van Sebille 2020). Kerpen et al. (2020) studied the wave-induced distribution of sphere-like MPs in the surf zone on a live sandy bed. Guler et al. (2022) also investigated non-buoyant MP particle transport beneath irregular breaking waves over a live sediment bed. The focus of the present study is to experimentally examine the transport dynamics and retention of different non-buoyant MP under the effects of combined (non-breaking) irregular waves and current in coastal waters, in the presence of vegetation canopies.
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