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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Wave-averaged motion of small particles in surface gravity waves: Effect of particle shape on orientation, drift, and dispersion
ClearWave-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.
Orientation dynamics of nonspherical particles under surface gravity waves
This experimental study found that non-spherical particles (like many microplastic fragments) orient themselves in specific ways when exposed to surface ocean waves, affecting how they move and sink. These orientation effects are not captured in simple spherical particle models, suggesting current microplastic transport predictions may be inaccurate.
Transport of anisotropic particles under waves
A computer model showed that non-spherical particles (like many microplastic fragments and fibers) behave differently from spherical ones in wave-driven water flow, affecting how they orient and where they travel. Accounting for particle shape is important for accurately predicting where microplastic debris accumulates in coastal and ocean environments.
Inertial effects on the transport of an anisotropic particle in surface gravity waves
Researchers modeled the transport and rotation of ellipsoidal particles — representing microplastic fibers and other non-spherical shapes — in surface ocean waves. They found that particle shape significantly affects horizontal drift, with elongated particles drifting at different rates than spheres. These results indicate that accurately predicting the transport of fiber microplastics in the ocean requires accounting for particle shape.
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.
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.
Settling of inertial nonspherical particles in wavy flow
Lab experiments showed that plastic particles of different shapes — rods, disks, and spheres — settle at different rates in wavy water, and waves can both speed up and slow down their sinking. Understanding how particle shape affects transport in ocean currents is key to predicting where microplastics accumulate.
Dispersion of finite-size, non-spherical particles by waves and currents
Researchers conducted laboratory experiments to measure the dispersion of non-spherical, negatively buoyant particles — including discs, rods, and cylinders — in combined wave-current flows, providing empirical data relevant to understanding how microplastic particles of varying shapes travel through aquatic environments. Their results show that particle shape significantly influences dispersion patterns, with implications for predicting microplastic transport and distribution in coastal and riverine systems.
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.
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.
Quantifying the influence of size, shape, and density of microplastics on their transport modes: A modeling approach
Researchers developed a computer model that predicts how microplastics of different sizes, shapes, and densities move through ocean water. The model accurately simulates whether particles float on the surface, stay suspended in the water column, or settle to the bottom. Understanding how microplastics travel through marine environments is important for predicting where contamination accumulates and which seafood sources are most likely to be affected.
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.
Effect of Shape and Size on the Transport of Floating Particles on the Free Surface in a Meandering Stream
Using particle tracking in a field-scale meandering stream, researchers found that the shape and size of floating particles — including microplastics — significantly affect how they move with water currents. Irregularly shaped particles behave differently than spheres, which matters for predicting where plastic pollution accumulates in waterways.
Parametric study of the dispersion of inertial ellipsoidal particles in a wave-current flow
This study systematically examined how the shape, size, and density of inertial ellipsoidal particles influence their dispersion by wave-current flows, with direct relevance to predicting how microplastic fragments and fibers of varying morphology are transported in coastal and marine environments.
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.
Modeling Microplastic Transport in the Marine Environment: Testing Empirical Models of Particle Terminal Sinking Velocity for Irregularly Shaped Particles
Researchers tested multiple drag models for predicting the terminal settling velocity of irregularly shaped microplastic particles in seawater, identifying three high-precision models and demonstrating that settling velocity is largely stable across ocean depths and independent of initial particle velocity, improving the accuracy of marine microplastic transport simulations.
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.
Influence of Shape on Heteroaggregation of Model Microplastics: A Simulation Study
This simulation study examined how the shape of microplastic particles (spheres vs. fibers vs. fragments) affects how they clump together (heteroaggregate) with natural organic matter in water. Particle shape influences how far microplastics travel, where they settle, and how available they are to aquatic organisms.
Settling velocity of microplastic particles having regular and irregular shapes
Researchers measured how quickly microplastic particles of various shapes settle through water, testing 66 different particle types including spheres, cylinders, fibers, and irregular fragments. They found that particle shape significantly affects settling speed, with fibers and flat shapes sinking more slowly than spheres of the same size. The study provides new equations for predicting where microplastics end up in oceans and waterways based on their shape.
Laboratory Measurements of the Wave‐Induced Motion of Plastic Particles: Influence of Wave Period, Plastic Size and Plastic Density
Researchers conducted laboratory flume experiments to measure the wave-induced Lagrangian drift of plastic particles of varying size and density under different wave periods and intermediate water depth conditions. They found that particle density was the dominant factor — floating particles followed theoretical Stokes drift closely while sinking particles showed substantially reduced net displacement — with implications for predicting plastic transport from coasts to ocean garbage patches.
Modeling the settling and resuspension of microplastics in rivers: Effect of particle properties and flow conditions
Researchers developed a mathematical model to simulate how microplastics of different shapes settle and resuspend in rivers, moving beyond the common assumption that all particles are spherical. They found that turbulence has a complex effect, sometimes keeping particles suspended longer and sometimes accelerating their settling, depending on flow conditions. The model reveals that particle shape significantly influences where microplastics end up in river systems.
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.
Analysis of hydraulic conditions considering the influence of particle shape
This review article examined how particle shape influences fluid dynamics and sediment transport across various engineering and environmental contexts. Understanding particle shape effects is relevant to predicting how microplastics of different shapes move and settle in aquatic environments.
Settling velocity of irregularly shaped microplastics under steady and dynamic flow conditions
The settling velocities of irregularly shaped microplastics were measured under both still water and dynamic flow conditions, finding that shape strongly affected settling speed and that turbulence caused non-spherical particles to orient and settle differently than spheres, with implications for predicting microplastic vertical transport in rivers and coastal waters.