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Article
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AI-assigned paper type based on the abstract. Classification may not be perfect — flag errors using the feedback button.
Tier 2
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Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence.
Marine & Wildlife
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Simulated microplastics lurk below the ocean surface
Physics Today
2021
Alex Lopatka
Summary
Researchers developed a computer model showing that algae growing on floating plastic debris and ocean density gradients cause microplastics to sink below the surface, making them much harder to detect and remove. This finding suggests that ocean plastic pollution is far more widespread in subsurface waters than surface surveys indicate.
Study Type
Environmental
A generalizable dynamics model shows that algal growth and a density gradient affect the buoyancy of floating debris.