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Catching the variety: Obtaining the distribution of terminal velocities of microplastics particles in a stagnant fluid by a stochastic simulation
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A stochastic simulation model was used to estimate the distribution of settling and rising speeds for microplastic particles of varying size, shape, and density in still water. Understanding how microplastics move through water columns is essential for predicting where they accumulate and how organisms are exposed.
A simple stochastic numerical model is applied to obtain the distribution of the terminal settling/rising velocity of a set of MPs particles whose size, shape, and density have their distributions in accordance with field observations and production trends. Results of the direct Monte Carlo simulation are shown to reproduce well the data of laboratory experiments. Distributions of MPs by size and density appear to be more valuable for the final terminal velocity distribution compared to the influence of the distribution by shape. The most "real" of the simulated distributions of the terminal velocity of MPs particles in the ocean has a multimodal shape, slightly different for fresh and saline waters. Multimodality arises from the fact that the terminal velocity depends on several physical parameters simultaneously and thus should be an expected feature of MPs terminal velocity distribution.
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Researchers used a three-dimensional Lagrangian dispersion model incorporating mean ocean currents and subgrid-scale turbulence to simulate the vertical distribution of microplastics in marine environments, assigning particles a spectrum of settling and rising velocities reflecting the diversity of microplastic sizes, shapes, and densities. Results showed that using a probability distribution of velocities rather than a single value substantially alters predicted vertical concentration profiles throughout the water column.
Discrete multivariate probability distributions of microplastic settling/rising velocity in the marine environment
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This study derived discrete multivariate probability distributions to characterize the vertical settling and rising velocities of marine microplastics, accounting for the highly variable density, size, and shape properties of particles found in the ocean. Both standard and mass-weighted probability distributions were developed to capture the statistical behavior of microplastic vertical transport across realistic particle populations. The resulting parameterization provides a more physically realistic representation of microplastic vertical dynamics for incorporation into ocean transport models.
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Researchers developed a computer model that predicts how microplastics of different sizes, shapes, and densities move through ocean water. The model accurately simulates whether particles float on the surface, stay suspended in the water column, or settle to the bottom. Understanding how microplastics travel through marine environments is important for predicting where contamination accumulates and which seafood sources are most likely to be affected.
Evaluation of the Effects of Particle Characteristics on the Terminal Settling Velocities of Microplastics in Stagnant Waters using CFD
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This study used computational fluid dynamics to simulate the terminal settling velocities of microplastic particles with different shapes, sizes, and densities in still water. Results showed that particle shape, particularly deviation from a sphere, significantly affects how fast microplastics sink in aquatic systems.
Modeling Microplastic Transport in the Marine Environment: Testing Empirical Models of Particle Terminal Sinking Velocity for Irregularly Shaped Particles
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Researchers tested multiple drag models for predicting the terminal settling velocity of irregularly shaped microplastic particles in seawater, identifying three high-precision models and demonstrating that settling velocity is largely stable across ocean depths and independent of initial particle velocity, improving the accuracy of marine microplastic transport simulations.
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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.