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Papers
61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Clustering of buoyant tracer in quasi-geostrophic coherent structures
ClearOn Clustering of Floating Tracers in Random Velocity Fields
This mathematical modeling study explores how floating particles — including microplastics — cluster into dense patches on the ocean surface under turbulent currents, finding that realistic time-correlated ocean flows produce clusters far faster than simpler models predict. Understanding this clustering behavior is important for accurately assessing where microplastic pollution concentrates in the ocean and how organisms encounter it at ecologically meaningful densities.
Particle dispersion and clustering in surface ocean turbulence with ageostrophic dynamics
This paper is not directly about microplastics; it uses numerical ocean simulations to model how small-scale turbulence and ageostrophic dynamics affect the clustering and dispersion of floating particles at the ocean surface, with relevance to understanding how marine debris concentrates in convergence zones.
Large eddy simulations of the accumulation of buoyant material in oceanic wind-driven and convective turbulence
Researchers used large eddy simulations to show that buoyant materials like microplastics accumulate at specific ocean surface zones driven by convergent currents under both wind-driven and convective turbulence, improving understanding of how plastics concentrate at the sea surface.
Aggregation of Slightly Buoyant Microplastics in Three-Dimensional Vortex Flows
This modeling study found that slightly buoyant microplastics preferentially accumulate in vorticity-dominated regions below the ocean surface in three-dimensional eddy flows. This explains why microplastics are found throughout the water column rather than just at the surface, and has implications for their ingestion by organisms at various depths.
Ordering of trajectories reveals hierarchical finite-time coherent sets in Lagrangian particle data: detecting Agulhas rings in the South Atlantic Ocean
Scientists developed a new algorithm for detecting coherent ocean eddies — swirling water masses that can trap and transport floating particles — in large datasets of particle trajectories. Understanding how ocean circulation features move microplastics is important for predicting where marine plastic pollution accumulates.
Role of Indian Ocean Dynamics on Accumulation of Buoyant Debris
Researchers used ocean circulation modeling to investigate the role of Indian Ocean dynamics in accumulating buoyant marine plastic debris, examining how Ekman convergence and regional current patterns shape the distribution of floating debris in the Indian Ocean subtropical gyre.
Persistency and Surface Convergence Evidenced by Two Maker Buoys in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Researchers tracked two drifting buoys released in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 2019 and compared their trajectories to circulation divergence fields, Lagrangian plastic dispersal models, and sea-level anomalies, demonstrating that persistent negative velocity divergence and elevated modelled plastic surface density coincide with surface convergence zones that concentrate floating debris.
Aggregation of slightly buoyant microplastics in 3D vortex flows
Researchers studied the aggregation of slightly buoyant microplastics in three-dimensional vortex flows using the Maxey-Riley framework for small rigid spheres in fluid, finding that buoyant particles preferentially accumulate in vortex cores. The results explain subsurface microplastic aggregation patterns observed in ocean environments with rotational flow structures.
A theory for attractors of microplastic particles in the resonant structures of a 3D eddy
Researchers developed a theoretical framework predicting the formation of attractors — closed-loop trajectories — for microplastic particles within the resonant structures of three-dimensional ocean eddies. The theory establishes criteria for when such attractors exist and provides a mechanism explaining observed accumulation of small rigid particles in recirculating oceanic flows.
The Role of Ekman Currents, Geostrophy, and Stokes Drift in the Accumulation of Floating Microplastic
Researchers modeled the roles of Ekman currents, geostrophic flow, Stokes drift, and mesoscale eddies in concentrating floating microplastic in subtropical gyres, finding that wind-driven Ekman transport is the dominant accumulation mechanism.
Pathways of marine debris derived from trajectories of Lagrangian drifters
Researchers applied a probabilistic model to global satellite-tracked ocean drifter trajectories to map marine debris pathways, identifying five subtropical convergence zones maintained by Ekman currents where floating debris — including microplastics — preferentially accumulates, confirming predictions with direct ocean surface measurements.
The Role of the Unsteady Surface Wave‐Driven Ekman–Stokes Flow in the Accumulation of Floating Marine Litter
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.
Submesoscale eddies and their potential for buoyant microplastic accumulation
This study investigates how small ocean eddies called submesoscale eddies can trap and concentrate buoyant microplastics below the water surface, not just at the top. Using both physical oceanographic measurements and laboratory experiments, researchers found that these rotating water masses create subsurface attractors that pull floating particles downward. This matters because it helps explain why microplastics are found throughout the water column rather than only at the surface, complicating efforts to clean up or track ocean plastic pollution.
Supplementary material to "Aggregation of Slightly Buoyant Microplastics in Three-Dimensional Vortex Flows"
This is the supplementary mathematical appendix for the study on buoyant microplastic aggregation in three-dimensional vortex flows. The mathematical framework describes how microplastic particles with slight buoyancy deviate from fluid streamlines and accumulate in ocean eddy regions.
Uncovering microplastic surface transport pathways in the North Sea using Lagrangian coherent structures
This thesis used Lagrangian coherent structures — mathematical features of ocean flow — to identify the dominant pathways for microplastic transport across the surface of the North Sea. Understanding how ocean currents concentrate and move microplastics helps predict where marine life faces the highest exposure risk.
Sinking microplastics in the water column: simulations in the Mediterranean Sea
Researchers simulated the vertical dispersion and distribution of negatively buoyant microplastics in the Mediterranean Sea using a realistic circulation model, evaluating how inertia, Coriolis force, turbulence, and variable seawater density affect sinking trajectories and accumulation zones.
Anticyclonic eddies increase accumulation of microplastic in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre
Researchers found that anticyclonic eddies significantly increase the accumulation of microplastics in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre, using in situ measurements combined with satellite observations and modelling to reveal eddy-driven convergence as a key mechanism controlling microplastic distribution.
Material and debris transport patterns in Moreton Bay, Australia: The influence of Lagrangian coherent structures
Researchers applied Lagrangian coherent structures (LCS) — mathematical tools that map invisible transport barriers in fluid flow — to predict the fate of floating marine debris in Moreton Bay, Australia, showing that wind and islands significantly redirect debris pathways and that LCS can guide practical marine litter management.
The Role of Stokes Drift in the Dispersal of North Atlantic Surface Marine Debris
Researchers modeled the dispersal of floating marine debris in the North Atlantic using particle tracking models, finding that Stokes drift — wave-driven surface water transport — substantially accelerated beaching timescales and altered coastal accumulation patterns compared to models using Eulerian currents alone.
Three-Dimensional Dispersion of Neutral “Plastic” Particles in a Global Ocean Model
Researchers used Lagrangian particle tracking in a high-resolution global ocean model to simulate the three-dimensional fate of neutrally buoyant plastic particles released from rivers over 1991-2010. By the end of the simulation, less than 2% of particles remained at the surface, concentrated in subtropical gyres, while the majority sank — challenging the assumption that floating surface plastics represent the bulk of ocean plastic.
Aggregation and transport of microplastics by a cold-core ring in the southern recirculation of the Kuroshio Extension: the role of mesoscale eddies on plastic debris distribution
Researchers conducted shipboard surveys of floating microplastics within a cyclonic mesoscale eddy in the Kuroshio Extension. The study found that cold-core rings can aggregate and transport microplastics, suggesting that mesoscale ocean eddies may play a significant role in redistributing plastic debris across large ocean areas.
Extraction of persistent lagrangian coherent structures for the pollutant transport prediction in the Bay of Bengal
Researchers mapped long-term ocean circulation patterns in the Bay of Bengal using 24 years of current and wind data to identify persistent flow structures (called Lagrangian Coherent Structures) that control where pollutants travel. These maps were validated against real oil spill satellite imagery and could be used to predict where future oil spills — or floating plastic debris — would accumulate.
Lagrangian Evolution of the Trapping Capacity of Mesoscale Eddies in the Canary Eddy Corridor: A Numerical Modeling Approach
Researchers used OceanParcels Lagrangian modelling combined with the GLORYS12V1 reanalysis product to investigate how mesoscale eddies in the Canary Eddy Corridor trap and transport materials, finding that trapping capacity varies with eddy lifecycle phase and vertical structure, with implications for microplastic accumulation in the eastern North Atlantic.
A Theory for Attractors of Microplastic Particles in the Resonant Structures of a 3D Eddy
Researchers developed a theoretical framework predicting the existence and location of attractors for microplastic particles in three-dimensional ocean eddy flows, demonstrating how resonant structures created by non-symmetric disturbances generate additional trapping orbits for slightly buoyant particles using Maxey-Riley equation simulations.