We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Non-breaking Wave Effects on Buoyant Particle Distributions
Summary
This study used wave-resolving simulations to examine how surface gravity waves affect the distribution of buoyant microplastic particles in the ocean mixed layer. The findings show that wave dynamics create concentration patterns near the surface that are missed by models that do not resolve individual wave phases.
The dispersal of buoyant particles in the ocean mixed layer is influenced by a variety of physical factors including wind, waves, and turbulence. Microplastics observations are often made at the free surface, which is strongly forced by surface gravity waves. Many studies using numerical simulations to examine how turbulence and wave effects (e.g. breaking waves, Langmuir circulation) control buoyant particle dispersal at the ocean surface, however, are not wave phase-resolving. Therefore, the effects of an unsteady free surface due to surface gravity waves remain unknown in this context. Using numerical models and analytical techniques, we quantify the effects of a nonbreaking, monochromatic, progressive wave train on the equilibrium vertical and horizontal distributions of buoyant particles. We find that waves result in non-uniform horizontal distributions of particles with more particles under the wave crests than the troughs. We also find that the waves can stretch or compress the equilibrium vertical distribution. Finally, we consider the effects of waves on the sampling of microplastics with a towed net, and we show that waves have the ability to lower the measured concentrations relative to nets sampling without the influence of waves.
Sign in to start a discussion.
More Papers Like This
Influence of waves on the three-dimensional distribution of plastic in the ocean
Researchers modeled the trajectories of microplastic particles released continuously from coastal sources across realistic ocean simulations to understand how wave dynamics and ocean circulation distribute plastic pollution globally. The model showed that wave-driven mixing significantly influences vertical plastic distribution, not just horizontal surface drift. Including wave effects improves predictions of where ocean microplastics accumulate.
Passive buoyant tracers in the ocean surface boundary layer: 2. Observations and simulations of microplastic marine debris
Using ocean computer models calibrated against real-world observations, this study showed how wave mixing and other physical processes push buoyant microplastics below the ocean surface, explaining why less plastic is detected at the surface than expected. These models are critical for estimating where microplastic pollution is truly accumulating in the ocean.
Influence of waves on the three-dimensional distribution of plastic in the ocean.
This modeling study simulated the three-dimensional transport of plastic particles in the ocean over 24 years using a wave-coupled circulation model, finding that ocean surface waves significantly influence how deeply plastics are mixed and distributed. Accounting for waves is important for accurately predicting where plastic pollution concentrates and how much reaches the deep ocean.
Passive buoyant tracers in the ocean surface boundary layer: 1. Influence of equilibrium wind‐waves on vertical distributions
Using large eddy simulations, this paper modeled how wind-driven waves affect the vertical distribution of buoyant particles near the ocean surface, providing the physical framework for the companion paper on microplastic debris distribution. The models explain why floating microplastics are often mixed down below the surface, reducing the concentrations observed in surface sampling.
Microplastics segregation by rise velocity at the ocean surface
This study modeled the competing forces of particle buoyancy and turbulent mixing that control the vertical distribution of microplastics in the ocean surface layer, finding that particle rise velocity is the key variable that segregates plastic types and determines how they distribute relative to surface and subsurface measurements.