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Modeling Microplastic and Solute Transport in Vegetated Flows
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Researchers developed a hydrodynamic model for microplastic transport over submerged vegetation canopies, finding that microplastics exhibited higher longitudinal dispersion than dissolved solutes and that canopy height significantly influenced mixing and transport processes.
Abstract Physical interactions of microplastics within vegetation and turbulent flows of freshwater systems are poorly understood. An experimental study was conducted to investigate the underlying physical transport mechanisms of microplastics over submerged canopies across a range of flow conditions common in the natural environment. The effects of changing canopy heights were investigated by testing two model canopies of varying stem heights, simulating seasonal variation. This study determined and compared the mixing and dispersion processes for microplastics and solutes utilizing fluorometric tracing techniques. A hydrodynamic model was developed based on the advection‐dispersion equation for quantifying microplastic mixing in submerged canopies. Longitudinal dispersion coefficients for neutrally buoyant microplastics (polyethylene) and solutes were significantly correlated within submerged model vegetation irrespective of the complexity of the flow regime. Hydrodynamic and solute transport models were shown to be capable of robust predictions of mixing for neutrally buoyant microplastics in environmental flows over a canopy, facilitating a new approach to quantify microplastic transport and fate. We compare the mixing processes for microplastics and solutes then propose a hydrodynamic model for quantifying the mixing in submerged canopies.
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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.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.