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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Short-term buoyant microplastic transport patterns driven by wave evolution, breaking, and orbital motion in coast
ClearA laboratory experiment on the effect of waves on the transport and dispersion of macro, meso, and microplastics in the surf zone
This laboratory wave tank experiment examined how waves in the surf zone transport and spread macro-, meso-, and microplastics. Waves caused rapid horizontal and vertical mixing of plastic particles, suggesting that coastal wave action significantly influences where plastic debris concentrates along shorelines.
Experimental study of non-buoyant microplastic transport beneath breaking irregular waves on a live sediment bed
Researchers conducted wave-flume experiments showing that non-buoyant microplastics are transported shoreward under breaking irregular waves, with their cross-shore distribution influenced by wave energy, particle density, and sediment bed dynamics.
Experimental investigation on the nearshore transport of buoyant microplastic particles
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.
A Simplified Experimental Method to Estimate the Transport of Non-Buoyant Plastic Particles Due to Waves by 2D Image Processing
Not a microplastics paper in the strict sense — this study develops and validates an image-processing method to track the movement of non-buoyant plastic debris particles under wave action in a laboratory wave tank, advancing the physical modeling tools used to predict where plastic pollution accumulates in coastal environments.
Microplastics Transport and Mixing Mechanisms in the Nearshore Region
This study investigated how waves and nearshore currents mix and transport microplastics in coastal zones, finding that physical oceanographic processes strongly control where microplastics accumulate along shorelines. Understanding nearshore microplastic transport is important for predicting contamination hotspots and designing effective beach cleanup strategies.
Laboratory Investigation of Cross-shore Lagrangian Velocities of Buoyant Microplastic Particles in Irregular Waves
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.
Laboratory Study of Non-buoyant Microplastic Transport Beneath Breaking Irregular Waves on a Live Sediment Bed
Researchers conducted wave flume experiments to map where non-buoyant microplastic particles accumulate under breaking waves on a sandy seabed, identifying four distinct hotspots — from offshore bars to beaches — and finding that particle density, shape, and position relative to breaking waves are the key drivers of transport direction.
Non-breaking Wave Effects on Buoyant Particle Distributions
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.
Wave-induced cross-shore distribution of different densities, shapes, and sizes of plastic debris in coastal environments: A laboratory experiment
Researchers conducted laboratory experiments to understand how wave-induced currents sort and transport plastic debris of different densities, shapes, and sizes across coastal environments, revealing distinct cross-shore distribution patterns.
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.
Settling Velocity of Microplastics Exposed to Wave Action
Researchers investigated how wave action affects the settling velocity of microplastic debris, finding that hydrodynamic forces from waves alter the transport and deposition behavior of microplastics in marine environments.
Effect of Surface Waves on Settling and Drifting of Microplastic Particles: A Laboratory Experiment
Researchers conducted laboratory wave-channel experiments to study the trajectories, settling velocities, and drift velocities of microplastic particles of varying shapes (isometric, flat, elongated) under surface wave and wind-driven current conditions, finding terminal settling velocities of 1.0-3.8 cm/s in still fluid and characterizing how wave action modifies transport behavior.
Impacts of wind forcing on microplastics kinematic in a sensitive water area
Researchers modeled how wind forcing affects the movement and distribution of microplastics in a sensitive coastal water area, finding that wind-driven surface currents are a dominant control on where microplastics accumulate. The model predicts substantial wind-driven concentration at specific coastal zones.
Fate of microplastics and mesoplastics carried by surface currents and wind waves: A numerical model approach in the Sea of Japan
A particle-tracking ocean model for the Sea of Japan showed that surface currents, wind waves, and Stokes drift all influence the distribution of floating microplastics, with model outputs matching field survey data. The study demonstrates the value of combining wave dynamics with current models to predict where microplastics accumulate in coastal seas.
Wave-induced transport of non-buoyant microplastic particles: Phase-resolved experiments and excess-Shields scaling
Laboratory wave flume experiments showed that non-buoyant microplastic particles (such as PLA) move with incoming wave action and accumulate onshore, with the drift increasing with wave steepness. These findings help explain the observed buildup of denser microplastics in coastal sediments and improve models predicting where microplastics ultimately settle.
A wave-resolving 2DV Lagrangian approach to model microplastic transport in the nearshore
This study presents a new computer modeling approach to simulate how both floating and sinking microplastics move through wave-dominated nearshore waters, incorporating realistic turbulence, seafloor interactions, and particle settling. Accurate nearshore transport models are critical for predicting where microplastics accumulate along coastlines, how much re-enters the open ocean, and which beaches and coastal ecosystems face the greatest contamination risk.
Sea Waves Transport of Inertial Micro-Plastics: Mathematical Model and Applications
Researchers developed a mathematical model for how sea waves affect the movement of inertial microplastics in the ocean, calculating how particle size and density influence their trajectories under wave forcing. Better models of wave-driven plastic transport are needed to predict where microplastics accumulate in ocean surface waters.
Selective accumulation of plastic debris at the breaking wave area of coastal waters
Plastic debris was found to selectively accumulate in the breaking wave zone at the coastline, rather than being evenly distributed across nearshore water. This wave-driven concentration effect has implications for beach cleanup strategies and for understanding how plastic enters and exits nearshore environments.
Tide-induced infiltration and resuspension of microplastics in shorelines: Insights from tidal tank experiments
Researchers investigated how tidal forces drive microplastic infiltration and resuspension in shoreline sediments using tidal tank experiments, finding that smaller, lower-density particles were more readily resuspended and that tidal cycles progressively redistributed microplastics.
Wave-Induced Distribution of Microplastic in the Surf Zone
Researchers examined how wave action distributes 13 different microplastic types of varying size, shape, and density across a surf zone using a wave flume with a mobile sandy beach profile, running over 40,000 regular wave cycles. They found that higher-density and larger particles accumulated in shallower water, while lighter particles were transported offshore, with particle density being the dominant factor governing cross-shore distribution.
Tracking of Small Discrete Objects Submerged in Surf and Swash Zones on Sand Beaches
Experiments in a wave flume tracked how microplastics and gravel move in surf and swash zones on beaches, finding that particle shape and size significantly affect how far they travel. The study improves predictions of where microplastic pollution accumulates on shorelines.
Wave-averaged motion of small particles in surface gravity waves: Effect of particle shape on orientation, drift, and dispersion
This study uses mathematical modeling to show that the shape of a small particle — such as a microplastic fragment — determines how it orients itself, drifts, and spreads when carried by ocean surface waves. This matters for predicting where microplastics accumulate in the ocean, since non-spherical fibers and fragments move very differently from spheres under the same wave conditions.
Impact of microplastic pollution on breaking waves
Researchers investigated how the presence of microplastics affects the dynamics and dissipation of breaking ocean waves, finding that microplastics alter wave characteristics at high concentrations. The study highlights a physical interaction between plastic pollution and ocean surface processes.
Wave-averaged motion of small particles in surface gravity waves: effect of particle shape on orientation, drift, and dispersion
This study modeled how the shape of particles like microplastics affects their movement, orientation, and drift in ocean surface waves. Researchers found that elongated or asymmetric particles behave very differently from spheres, influencing how far and where they travel. Better understanding of shape-dependent transport is needed to accurately predict how microplastics distribute across ocean surfaces.