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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Persistency and Surface Convergence Evidenced by Two Maker Buoys in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
ClearRole of Indian Ocean Dynamics on Accumulation of Buoyant Debris
Researchers used ocean circulation modeling to investigate the role of Indian Ocean dynamics in accumulating buoyant marine plastic debris, examining how Ekman convergence and regional current patterns shape the distribution of floating debris in the Indian Ocean subtropical gyre.
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.
Comparing models and observations of the surface accumulation zone of floating plastic in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre
This study compared ocean circulation models to observational data on where floating plastic accumulates in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre. Improving model accuracy is important for predicting plastic concentration zones and designing effective ocean cleanup strategies.
Distribution of Surface Plastic Debris in the Eastern Pacific Ocean from an 11-Year Data Set
Analysis of over 2,500 plankton net tows in the eastern Pacific Ocean from 2001 to 2012 documented a persistent plastic accumulation zone in the North Pacific subtropical gyre corresponding to the predicted convergence zone of ocean currents. The 11-year dataset reveals the long-term stability of this "garbage patch" and its distinct seasonal and interannual variability.
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.
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.
Scales of Spatial Heterogeneity of Plastic Marine Debris in the Northeast Pacific Ocean
Researchers conducted a systematic assessment of plastic debris spatial heterogeneity across the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, finding that plastic abundance varied over multiple spatial scales and was not uniformly distributed within the 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch' as popularly portrayed. Debris concentrations were patchy at fine scales and showed no simple relationship with surface current convergence zones.
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.
The vertical distribution of buoyant plastics at sea: an observational study in the North Atlantic Gyre
Field measurements of buoyant plastic particles at multiple depths in the ocean showed that concentrations decrease sharply below a few meters, with turbulence mixing plastics downward. The data validate model predictions and confirm that surface net trawls substantially undercount total plastic in the water column.
On 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.
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.
A spatially variable scarcity of floating microplastics in the eastern North Pacific Ocean
This study used surface trawl sampling across the eastern North Pacific to map floating microplastic distribution, finding highly variable concentrations with some areas nearly free of plastic despite proximity to the garbage patch. The results suggest that ocean circulation patterns create complex and shifting patterns of microplastic accumulation rather than a simple concentrated gyre.
Three-Dimensional Dispersion of Neutral “Plastic” Particles in a Global Ocean Model
Researchers used Lagrangian particle tracking in a high-resolution global ocean model to simulate the three-dimensional fate of neutrally buoyant plastic particles released from rivers over 1991-2010. By the end of the simulation, less than 2% of particles remained at the surface, concentrated in subtropical gyres, while the majority sank — challenging the assumption that floating surface plastics represent the bulk of ocean plastic.
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.
A global mass budget for positively buoyant macroplastic debris in the ocean
A mass budget analysis challenged the conventional explanation that the majority of ocean macroplastic mass is converted to microplastics and sinks, instead arguing that coastal circulation dynamics may account for the discrepancy between plastic emission estimates and surface accumulation. The study suggests that decades-old objects still found at sea indicate longer surface residence times than current models assume.
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.
A global inventory of small floating plastic debris
Researchers compiled a global inventory of small floating plastic debris from ocean surface sampling expeditions, estimating the total abundance and mass of floating microplastics and identifying the major oceanic accumulation zones.
High Concentrations of floating life in the North Pacific Garbage Patch
Researchers tested the hypothesis that floating life (obligate neuston) concentrates in convergent ocean gyres beyond the Sargasso Sea by sampling the eastern North Pacific Subtropical Gyre in the North Pacific Garbage Patch (NPGP). They found significantly higher neuston densities inside the NPGP core than on its periphery and a positive relationship between neuston abundance and floating plastic debris.
Passive buoyant tracers in the ocean surface boundary layer: 2. Observations and simulations of microplastic marine debris
Using ocean computer models calibrated against real-world observations, this study showed how wave mixing and other physical processes push buoyant microplastics below the ocean surface, explaining why less plastic is detected at the surface than expected. These models are critical for estimating where microplastic pollution is truly accumulating in the ocean.
Evidence that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is rapidly accumulating plastic
Researchers analyzed long-term data from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and found that plastic is rapidly accumulating, with the mass of floating plastic growing faster than inputs would suggest, pointing to an underestimated and worsening pollution problem.
Particle dispersion and clustering in surface ocean turbulence with ageostrophic dynamics
This paper is not directly about microplastics; it uses numerical ocean simulations to model how small-scale turbulence and ageostrophic dynamics affect the clustering and dispersion of floating particles at the ocean surface, with relevance to understanding how marine debris concentrates in convergence zones.
Vertical structure of ocean surface currents under high winds from massive arrays of drifters
This oceanography study used drifting buoys to measure ocean surface currents very close to the water surface, improving understanding of how wind and waves drive near-surface transport. Such current models are important for predicting how buoyant microplastics are distributed and concentrated across ocean surface waters.
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.
Prevalence of microplastic pollution in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean
Researchers conducted the first systematic field survey of microplastic pollution at the surface of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean, finding concentrations spanning two orders of magnitude and identifying polyethylene as the dominant polymer type, with the highest concentrations associated with convergence zones shaped by the Kuroshio Current and adjacent eddies.