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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Empirical Lagrangian parametrization for wind-driven mixing of buoyant particles at the ocean surface
ClearEmpirical Lagrangian parametrization for wind-driven mixing of buoyant particles at the ocean surface
Researchers developed 1D Lagrangian parametrizations of wind-driven turbulent mixing in the ocean surface layer for use in 3D particle-tracking models, finding that Markov-0 stochastic transport models perform well and that Langmuir-circulation turbulence must be included to match field measurements of microplastic concentration profiles.
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.
Microplastics segregation by rise velocity at the ocean surface
This study modeled the competing forces of particle buoyancy and turbulent mixing that control the vertical distribution of microplastics in the ocean surface layer, finding that particle rise velocity is the key variable that segregates plastic types and determines how they distribute relative to surface and subsurface measurements.
Passive buoyant tracers in the ocean surface boundary layer: 1. Influence of equilibrium wind‐waves on vertical distributions
Using large eddy simulations, this paper modeled how wind-driven waves affect the vertical distribution of buoyant particles near the ocean surface, providing the physical framework for the companion paper on microplastic debris distribution. The models explain why floating microplastics are often mixed down below the surface, reducing the concentrations observed in surface sampling.
Horizontal Dispersion of Buoyant Materials in the Ocean Surface Boundary Layer
This theoretical and computational study examined how buoyant materials like plastic fragments are dispersed horizontally in the ocean surface layer by turbulent mixing processes. The modeling results help explain how surface microplastics spread and whether they reach zones of biological concentration.
Impacts of wind forcing on microplastics kinematic in a sensitive water area
Researchers modeled how wind forcing affects the movement and distribution of microplastics in a sensitive coastal water area, finding that wind-driven surface currents are a dominant control on where microplastics accumulate. The model predicts substantial wind-driven concentration at specific coastal zones.
Numerical analysis of boundary conditions in a Lagrangian particle model for vertical mixing, transport and surfacing of buoyant particles in the water column
This technical modeling paper examines how to accurately simulate the behavior of buoyant particles (like microplastics) rising to the ocean surface in computer models. Improving these simulations helps predict where floating microplastics will accumulate in the ocean.
Mixing and transport of materials in the Ocean Surface Boundary Layer
This doctoral thesis investigated turbulence and mixing processes in the ocean surface boundary layer and how they affect the transport of materials including microplastics, oil, and nutrients. The research develops mathematical models to better understand how plastic particles disperse near the ocean surface, which is important for predicting the fate of marine plastic pollution.
Lagrangian Investigation of Wave-Driven Turbulence in the Ocean Surface Boundary Layer
This study used Lagrangian particle tracking within large-eddy simulations to analyze wave-driven turbulence in the ocean surface boundary layer. Ocean surface turbulence directly controls how microplastics are mixed, accumulated, and transported in the uppermost layer of the ocean.
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.
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.
Wind‐Based Estimations of Ocean Surface Currents From Massive Clusters of Drifters in the Gulf of Mexico
Researchers used ocean surface drifter data from the Gulf of Mexico to develop models estimating surface currents from wind measurements. This type of modeling can be applied to predict how microplastic debris disperses across ocean surfaces after entering from river or coastal sources.
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.
The effect of particle properties on the depth profile of buoyant plastics in the ocean
Using sampling at multiple depths from 0 to 5 meters in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre, researchers measured how turbulent mixing redistributes buoyant microplastics below the ocean surface. The results show that surface net sampling alone significantly underestimates total microplastic concentrations, particularly in windy conditions.
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.
Dispersion of buoyant Lagrangian particles in the wave-driven ocean surface boundary layer
This computational study used large eddy simulations to model how buoyant particles — including plastics, oil, and biological material — disperse within the ocean surface boundary layer under different wave and turbulence conditions. The results showed that Langmuir turbulence (driven by wave-current interactions) is especially effective at submerging buoyant particles and influencing their horizontal spread, while highly buoyant particles can become trapped at the surface under certain conditions. The findings are directly relevant to modeling how microplastics distribute across the ocean surface and how long they remain accessible to marine organisms that feed near the surface.
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.
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.
A wave-resolving 2DV Lagrangian approach to model microplastic transport in the nearshore
This study presents a new computer modeling approach to simulate how both floating and sinking microplastics move through wave-dominated nearshore waters, incorporating realistic turbulence, seafloor interactions, and particle settling. Accurate nearshore transport models are critical for predicting where microplastics accumulate along coastlines, how much re-enters the open ocean, and which beaches and coastal ecosystems face the greatest contamination risk.
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.
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.
Vertical transport of buoyant microplastic particles in the ocean: The role of turbulence and biofouling
Researchers modeled how turbulence and biofouling interact to determine the vertical movement of buoyant microplastic particles in the ocean. They identified three distinct flow regimes that govern whether microplastics stay at the surface, oscillate, or sink to the seafloor. The study helps explain the observation that even low-density microplastics are found in deep ocean sediments, suggesting biofouling-driven density changes are a key transport mechanism.
Modeling of vertical microplastic transport by rising bubbles
This study modeled the vertical transport of microplastic particles by rising bubbles in the ocean, finding that bubble-mediated transport significantly enhances surface concentration of microplastics and helps explain why surface measurements often show higher particle densities than bulk water predictions suggest.
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.