Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

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.

2023 arXiv (Cornell University) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2017 Journal of Fluid Mechanics 77 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Physical Review Fluids 10 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2019 Physical Review Fluids 37 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2020 Physical Review Fluids 21 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Physical Review Fluids 5 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2019 Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 20 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 Journal of Fluid Mechanics 14 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 2 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Fundamental and Applied Hydrophysics 1 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Environmental Research 86 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2016 Marine Pollution Bulletin 629 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 ACS ES&T Water 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Gravitational settling of microplastic fibers: experimental results and implications for global transport

This study measured the gravitational settling velocities of microplastic fibers and found that their non-spherical shape causes them to settle much more slowly than spheres of the same volume. Current atmospheric transport models that assume spherical particles significantly underestimate how long fibers remain airborne. These results have important implications for predicting how far microplastic fibers can travel before depositing.

2023
Article Tier 2

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.

2021 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 92 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2020 Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans 72 citations
Article Tier 2

Atmospheric transport of microplastic particles as a function of their size and shape

Researchers investigated the atmospheric transport and settling of microplastic particles as a function of size and shape, implementing a shape-correction parameterization for fiber-shaped particles in an atmospheric transport model to better represent their reduced gravitational settling velocity compared to spheres. The study showed that non-spherical fibers experience greater atmospheric drag, increasing their residence time and transport distance, and that including shape effects improved agreement between model output and ground-based measurements.

2022
Article Tier 2

Enhanced settling and dispersion of inertial particles in surface waves

Researchers developed kinematic expressions for the transport of negatively buoyant inertial particles in surface waves, finding that the nonlinear drag regime is most applicable to real-world marine debris and sediment, and quantifying how wave-induced flows cause enhanced particle settling and lateral dispersion.

2022 Journal of Fluid Mechanics 28 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Physical Review Fluids 45 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 International Journal of Hydropower and Civil Engineering
Article Tier 2

Mobility and retention of microplastic fibers and irregular plastic fragments in fluvial systems: an experimental flume study

Researchers conducted experimental flume studies to compare the mobility and retention of microplastic fibres and irregularly shaped plastic fragments in fluvial systems. The study found that particle shape strongly influences transport behaviour, with fibres exhibiting greater mobility and distinct retention patterns compared to irregular fragments, highlighting the need to move beyond spherical particle models in microplastic transport research.

2025 Microplastics and Nanoplastics
Article Tier 2

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.

2023
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Shape matters: long-range transport of microplastic fibers in the atmosphere

This study modeled the long-range atmospheric transport of microplastic fibers, finding that their elongated non-spherical shape causes them to travel much farther than spherical particles before settling. This helps explain why microplastic fibers are found even in the most remote locations on Earth, far from any plastic pollution source.

2023 arXiv (Cornell University) 2 citations