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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Particle dispersion and clustering in surface ocean turbulence with ageostrophic dynamics
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.
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.
Clustering of buoyant tracer in quasi-geostrophic coherent structures
Using Lagrangian particle tracking in a turbulent quasi-geostrophic ocean model, researchers found that buoyant floating tracers cluster inside coherent vortex structures due to ageostrophic circulation effects, with implications for understanding how surface plastic debris concentrates in ocean eddies.
Horizontal Dispersion of Buoyant Materials in the Ocean Surface Boundary Layer
This theoretical and computational study examined how buoyant materials like plastic fragments are dispersed horizontally in the ocean surface layer by turbulent mixing processes. The modeling results help explain how surface microplastics spread and whether they reach zones of biological concentration.
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.
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.
Empirical Lagrangian parametrization for wind-driven mixing of buoyant particles at the ocean surface
This study developed simplified mathematical models for how wind-driven turbulence mixes buoyant particles — including microplastics — in the ocean surface layer. Better parameterizations of near-surface mixing are important for predicting where floating microplastics concentrate and how they eventually sink.
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.
On some physical and dynamical properties of microplastic particles in marine environment
This study examined the physical and dynamical properties of microplastic particles in marine environments, using modeling to predict how particle shape, density, and size govern transport, dispersion, and accumulation patterns.
The effect of wind mixing on the vertical distribution of buoyant plastic debris
Researchers modeled and measured how wind mixing affects the vertical distribution of buoyant plastic debris in the ocean, finding that turbulent mixing drives plastics below the surface and explains why surface sampling underestimates total plastic concentrations.
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.
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.
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.
Microparticle dynamics in upper-ocean turbulence: Dataset for analysis, modeling & prediction
Researchers developed and released a comprehensive open-access dataset from nine direct numerical simulations of particle-laden turbulence designed to represent microplastic and biogenic debris dynamics in the upper-ocean layer, incorporating physicochemical effects of biofilm stickiness. The dataset is intended to facilitate modeling and prediction of microplastic distribution and aggregation patterns in marine turbulence, supporting development of mitigation strategies for ocean plastic pollution.
Impact of coagulation characteristics on the aggregation of microplastics in upper-ocean turbulence
This study investigated how coagulation conditions affect microplastic aggregation in water treatment, finding that coagulant type and dose significantly influence floc formation with plastic particles and ultimately removal efficiency.
Influence of Near‐Surface Currents on the Global Dispersal of Marine Microplastic
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.
What Influences Microplastic Distribution in the Marine Environment? A Study Highlighting the Role of Fronts and Submesoscale Processes in the North Sea
Researchers combined in-situ microplastic sampling with oceanographic measurements in the North Sea to demonstrate that submesoscale processes, density fronts, and filaments play a critical role in MP transport and aggregation, creating convergence zones that serve as hotspots for microplastic accumulation.
Fluid dynamics challenges in predicting plastic pollution transport in the ocean: A perspective
This perspective reviewed fluid dynamics challenges in predicting microplastic transport in oceans, highlighting unsolved problems in modeling inertial particles in waves and turbulence, particle transformation, and the influence of submesoscale ocean processes.
The Fluid Mechanics of Ocean Microplastics
This review examined the fluid mechanics governing microplastic transport in marine environments, covering buoyancy, Stokes drift, turbulence, and biofouling effects across scales from surface films to deep-sea accumulation zones. The authors identified key knowledge gaps in predicting vertical transport and small-scale aggregation processes.
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.
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.
Vertical transport of buoyant microplastic particles in the ocean: The role of turbulence and biofouling
Researchers modeled how turbulence and biofouling interact to determine the vertical movement of buoyant microplastic particles in the ocean. They identified three distinct flow regimes that govern whether microplastics stay at the surface, oscillate, or sink to the seafloor. The study helps explain the observation that even low-density microplastics are found in deep ocean sediments, suggesting biofouling-driven density changes are a key transport mechanism.
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.
Direct numerical simulation of the distribution of floating microplastic particles in an open channel flow
This study used direct numerical simulation to model the three-dimensional distribution of floating microplastic particles in open channel flow, providing quantitative predictions of how particle buoyancy, size, and turbulence interact to control microplastic concentration profiles in rivers.