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Observations of Near‐Surface Current Shear Help Describe Oceanic Oil and Plastic Transport
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Researchers used near-surface current shear measurements to better describe how oil and plastic debris disperse and accumulate at the ocean surface, improving model predictions for the distribution of floating contaminants.
Abstract Plastics and spilled oil pose a critical threat to marine life and human health. As a result of wind forcing and wave motions, theoretical and laboratory studies predict very strong velocity variation with depth over the upper few centimeters of the water column, an observational blind spot in the real ocean. Here we present the first‐ever ocean measurements of the current vector profile defined to within 1 cm of the free surface. In our illustrative example, the current magnitude averaged over the upper 1 cm of the ocean is shown to be nearly four times the average over the upper 10 m, even for mild forcing. Our findings indicate that this shear will rapidly separate pieces of marine debris which vary in size or buoyancy, making consideration of these dynamics essential to an improved understanding of the pathways along which marine plastics and oil are transported.
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A new Lagrangian ocean platform equipped with an upward-facing sonar measured current shear within the top 2 meters of the sea surface, finding elevated velocity gradients that strongly influence how lightweight particles like microplastics disperse. The findings help explain why surface MP concentrations are so patchy and provide better data for models predicting where plastics accumulate.
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Researchers modeled the role of wave-driven Ekman-Stokes flow in the accumulation of floating marine debris, finding that this near-surface current mechanism significantly influences where plastic litter concentrates at sea, with implications for predicting and targeting ocean cleanup efforts.
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Researchers used ocean surface drifter data from the Gulf of Mexico to develop models estimating surface currents from wind measurements. This type of modeling can be applied to predict how microplastic debris disperses across ocean surfaces after entering from river or coastal sources.
Influence of Near‐Surface Currents on the Global Dispersal of Marine Microplastic
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An ocean circulation model incorporating biological and physical processes found that near-surface currents, including wind-driven surface drift and wave-induced mixing, play a major role in dispersing buoyant microplastics globally, with plastic accumulating preferentially in subtropical convergence zones. The model improves understanding of how ocean physics shapes global microplastic distribution patterns.
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Researchers modeled the mixing and transport of passive tracers — including plastic debris — at the ocean surface, finding that current-driven mixing creates complex spreading patterns that affect where floating plastics accumulate. The findings have implications for predicting the distribution of microplastic pollution across ocean basins.
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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.