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Papers
61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Influence of Particle Size and Fragmentation on Large-Scale Microplastic Transport in the Mediterranean Sea
ClearMicroplastics in the Mediterranean: Variability From Observations and Model Analysis
Researchers combined field sampling across four Mediterranean coastal areas with hydrodynamic and particle drift modeling to characterize microplastic abundance, size, and polymer type variability, finding that wastewater and river inputs drive spatial patterns of surface MP distribution.
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.
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.
Physical transport properties of marine microplastic pollution
Researchers reviewed the physical transport properties of marine microplastics — including buoyancy, settling velocity, and biofouling effects — and developed models predicting the dispersal of both pelagic and benthic plastic pollution from land-based sources across different ocean regions. The study highlights how hydrodynamic behavior varies by polymer type and particle size, leading to differential accumulation patterns in surface waters, the water column, and seafloor sediments.
Coupling fragmentation to a size-selective sedimentation model can quantify the long-term fate of buoyant plastics in the ocean
A size-selective sedimentation model was coupled with fragmentation dynamics to simulate how large plastic items break down and settle in aquatic environments over time. The coupled model advances predictions of microplastic size distributions and spatial accumulation patterns in rivers and oceans.
Modeling the Pathways and Accumulation Patterns of Micro- and Macro-Plastics in the Mediterranean
A basin-scale hydrodynamic model tracked plastic debris pathways in the Mediterranean Sea, showing that coastal currents concentrate plastics in the northwestern basin and that both riverine inputs and sea-based sources contribute substantially to the distribution hotspots observed at the surface.
Simulation of the transport of marine microplastic particles in the Ionian Archipelago (NE Ionian Sea) using a Lagrangian model and the control mechanisms affecting their transport
Researchers used a Lagrangian particle-tracking model to simulate microplastic transport in the Ionian Archipelago, finding that oceanographic currents drove significant dispersal of particles released from coastal population centers, with implications for biodiversity in this ecologically sensitive part of the Mediterranean.
The dynamics of microplastics and associated contaminants: Data-driven Lagrangian and Eulerian modelling approaches in the Mediterranean Sea
Researchers compared Lagrangian and Eulerian data-driven modelling approaches to simulate microplastic dispersal and associated organic pollutant transport in the Mediterranean Sea, finding that adsorption-desorption dynamics between microplastics and hydrophobic contaminants must be coupled for accurate pollution assessment.
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.
Lagrangian Transport of Marine Litter in the Mediterranean Sea
Researchers analyzed the largest available set of Lagrangian drift data from the Mediterranean Sea to model floating litter transport, finding a general tendency for plastic debris to accumulate in the southern and southeastern Levantine basin — areas not yet targeted by observational campaigns.
Evidence of Microplastic Size Impact on Mobility and Transport in the Marine Environment: A Review and Synthesis of Recent Research
This review synthesized evidence on how microplastic particle size affects transport and dispersal in the marine environment, finding that size critically influences turbulent entrainment, settling velocity, and resuspension, analogous to well-established natural sediment transport dynamics.
Spatial distribution of microplastics in the Gulf of Cadiz as a function of their density: A Lagrangian modelling approach
Researchers coupled a Lagrangian transport model to a high-resolution hydrodynamic model to analyze microplastic distribution in the Gulf of Cadiz, finding that low-density plastics accumulate near estuary sources while high-density particles sink rapidly, with the Guadalquivir and Guadiana estuaries as the dominant input pathways.
Changes in the Floating Plastic Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea in Relation to the Distance to Land
Researchers analyzed the composition, size distribution, and abundance of floating plastic debris in the Mediterranean Sea in relation to distance from land. The study found that the highest plastic concentrations occurred both far from shore and within the first kilometer of coastline, revealing a complex spatial distribution pattern for floating microplastics in semi-enclosed seas.
Modelling size distributions of marine plastics under the influence of continuous cascading fragmentation
Researchers developed a cascading fragmentation model to simulate how marine plastics break down over time, showing that continuous size-reducing fragmentation processes can reproduce observed particle size distributions in the global ocean.
A review of methods for modeling microplastic transport in the marine environments
This review systematically evaluated the advantages and limitations of various numerical modeling methods used to predict microplastic transport in marine environments, including key factors like parameterization of microplastic behaviors and beaching configurations.
Transport of marine microplastic particles: why is it so difficult to predict?
This review examines why predicting the transport of marine microplastic particles is challenging, highlighting that the wide distributions of particle density, size, and shape create continuously varying dynamical properties such as sinking velocity and resuspension thresholds. Researchers found that existing numerical models predominantly use simplified single-particle representations and fail to capture how particle properties change over time in the marine environment.
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.
Assimilating Size Diversity: Population Balance Equations Applied to the Modeling of Microplastic Transport
This paper applied population balance equations to model the size distribution dynamics of microplastics in environmental systems, providing a mathematical framework to predict fragmentation and aggregation behavior over time.
Lagrangian tracking of river microplastics in the Mediterranean Basin
Researchers applied a Mediterranean river microplastic source scenario to Lagrangian dispersion simulations using high-resolution 3D current fields from the SYMPHONIE hydrodynamic model, tracking river MP inputs through the semi-enclosed Mediterranean Basin to quantify sources, transfers, and accumulation hotspots.
Evaluation des apports fluviaux de microplastiques et modélisation de leur dispersion en mer Méditerranée
This French doctoral research estimated the annual flux of microplastics from rivers into the Mediterranean Sea and used transport models to track their dispersal. The results show that rivers are the dominant pathway delivering microplastics to the Mediterranean, and the modeling reveals hotspots of accumulation in specific coastal areas.
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.
Distribution of Plastics of Various Sizes and Densities in the Global Ocean From a 3D Eulerian Model
Using a three-dimensional Eulerian transport model, researchers simulated global ocean distribution of microplastics across different sizes and densities, finding that particle buoyancy and size strongly govern vertical distribution and that significant MP fractions sink to deeper ocean layers.
Microlitter occurrence, distribution, and summertime transport trajectories in the coastal waters of the north-eastern Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy)
Researchers assessed microlitter abundance and distribution in surface and subsurface waters of the northern Tyrrhenian Sea coast of Italy, using particle tracking to model summertime transport trajectories and identify the main pathways for microlitter dispersion in coastal zones.
A threshold model of plastic waste fragmentation: New insights into the distribution of microplastics in the ocean and its evolution over time
Researchers developed a fragmentation model for plastic particles in the ocean that postulates a critical size threshold below which further fragmentation becomes extremely unlikely, producing a predicted abundance peak around 1 mm in agreement with field data. The model incorporates realistic environmental input rates and degradation kinetics to project the evolution of microplastic particle size distributions over time.