We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
An estimation of the average residence times and onshore-offshore diffusivities of beached microplastics based on the population decay of tagged meso- and macrolitter
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers estimated average residence times and onshore-offshore diffusivities of microplastics on beaches using mark-recapture experiments on Wadahama Beach, Japan, finding a significant linear relationship between residence time and upward terminal velocity across a defined velocity range.
Residence times of microplastics were estimated based on the dependence of meso- and macrolitter residence times on their upward terminal velocities (UTVs) in the ocean obtained by one- and two-year mark-recapture experiments conducted on Wadahama Beach, Nii-jima Island, Japan. A significant linear relationship between the residence time and UTV was found in the velocity range of about 0.3-0.9ms, while there was no significant difference between the residence times obtained in the velocity range of about 0.9-1.4ms. This dependence on the UTV would reflect the uprush-backwash response of the target items to swash waves on the beach. By extrapolating the linear relationship down to the velocity range of microplastics, the residence times of microplastics and the 1D onshore-offshore diffusion coefficients were inferred, and are one to two orders of magnitude greater than the coefficients of the macroplastics.
More Papers Like This
Experimental investigation on the nearshore transport of buoyant microplastic particles
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers measured nearshore transport of buoyant microplastic particles and found they travel at near-fluid velocity before wave breaking but accelerate in the surf zone, with lighter particles transported faster, and developed an empirical formula for predicting cross-shore microplastic transport velocities.
Distribution of microplastics on sandy beaches in western and southern Japan and their fate in the oceans
AI summary Read the abstract
This study investigated microplastic contamination on sandy beaches across western and southern Japan and modeled the fate of those particles in surrounding ocean currents. Microplastics were widespread on Japanese beaches, with ocean circulation patterns determining transport pathways toward open ocean accumulation zones.
Laboratory Investigation of Cross-shore Lagrangian Velocities of Buoyant Microplastic Particles in Irregular Waves
AI summary Read the abstract
This wave flume experiment measured how quickly buoyant microplastic particles travel toward shore under different wave conditions. Results showed that particle beaching time depended mainly on release distance rather than particle properties before wave breaking. The findings help model how floating microplastics accumulate on beaches from ocean sources.
Dynamics of microplastic transport and accumulation in a rural coastal area: Insights from the Otsuchi Bay, a small ria in Sanriku, Japan
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers investigated microplastic accumulation in the sediments of Otsuchi Bay, a small rural ria on Japan's Pacific coast, finding concentrations of 2.6-13.6 particles per gram dry weight and noting that particles smaller than 1000 µm accounted for 96.3% of all MPs. A two-dimensional numerical model revealed that MP distribution in the bay is governed by particle size, density, tidal oscillating currents, and vertical terminal velocity.
Quantification of ocean microplastic fragmentation processes in the Sea of Japan using a combination of field observations and numerical particle tracking model experiments
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers combined field observations with a 5-year numerical particle-tracking model to quantify microplastic fragmentation rates in the Sea of Japan, finding that the best-fit simulation included fragmentation occurring both on beaches and in the ocean at about 20% of the beach rate. The study estimated an apparent fragmentation rate of approximately 1.0 mm per 100 days, demonstrating that spatiotemporal simulation data can substantially improve understanding of marine microplastic degradation.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.