We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Papers
61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Tracking of Small Discrete Objects Submerged in Surf and Swash Zones on Sand Beaches
ClearWave-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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Transport and accumulation of plastic particles on the varying sediment bed cover: Open-channel flow experiment
Researchers conducted open-channel flow experiments to study how various plastic particles of differing shape, size, density, and flexibility are transported and retained across sediment beds of varying grain size, finding that friction-driven retention zones consistently form at boundaries between finer and coarser sediments, offering a mechanism to explain the patchy distribution of microplastics in seafloor sediments.
Experimental Study of Microplastic Particle Transport Around Sea Gravel in Waves Plus Current Conditions
Researchers conducted experimental studies of microplastic particle transport around sea gravel under combined wave and current conditions, extending prior work on non-buoyant particles to characterize how gravel bed roughness and hydrodynamic forces govern microplastic accumulation hotspots.
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.
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.
Microplastic deposition in streams under moving bedforms
Researchers conducted flume experiments to examine microplastic deposition in sandy streambeds under moving bedform conditions, finding that bedform migration and particle size both control whether microplastics are buried or remain in suspension, with implications for estimating MP residence times in river systems.
Fate and transport of fragmented and spherical microplastics in saturated gravel and quartz sand
Researchers studied the fate and transport of fragmented and spherical microplastics through saturated gravel aquifer columns, finding that particle shape strongly influences transport distance, with fragments traveling farther than spheres.
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.
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.
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.
A 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.
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.
Microplastic trapping in sandy bedload: insights from flume experiments
Researchers conducted flume experiments to investigate the mechanisms controlling microplastic trapping in sandy bedload sediments, examining how particles of different sizes and densities become buried within ripple structures formed by unidirectional tractional flows. The study provided insights into riverine microplastic sedimentation dynamics relevant to understanding transient storage during land-to-ocean transport.
Microplastic beaching dependence on sediment grain size
Researchers sampled microplastics across a Mediterranean protected beach and found that accumulation is strongly influenced by sediment grain size — fine-grained sands trap more surface microplastics due to lower infiltration capacity — while fiber shape promotes entanglement in sediment pores and proximity to tourism and port activities drives spatial pollution hotspots.
Binary transport of PS and PET microplastics in saturated quartz sand: Effect of sand particle size and PET shape
Not all microplastics behave the same way when they enter groundwater or soil — their shape, size, and the plastic type all influence how far they travel. This study tracked how spherical and fragment-shaped microplastics of two polymer types (polystyrene and PET) moved through sand columns, finding that fragment-shaped particles were significantly less mobile than spheres, and that when both types were present together, the spheres helped carry fragments further by forming aggregates. These findings are important for predicting how microplastics contaminate groundwater and for designing remediation strategies.
Understanding how sediment movement affects microplastic deposition in sandy streambeds: A modeling study.
Researchers used a numerical model of flow and particle transport in moving streambed sediment to quantify how streambed motion affects microplastic deposition and accumulation, running simulations across streamwater velocities of 0.1-0.5 m/s and varying median grain sizes to examine MPs of all sizes and densities.
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.
Transport dynamics of microplastics from land to sea: the role of particle properties and stream morphology.
Researchers measured how particle properties including size, density, and polymer type interact with stream morphology to determine microplastic transport distances in 15 streams. Both plastic characteristics and stream structure independently influenced how far microplastics travel before settling, with implications for estimating fluxes to the ocean.