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 Retention of rising droplets in density stratification
ClearVertical Differentiation of Microplastics Influenced by Thermal Stratification in a Deep Reservoir
Researchers investigated how thermal stratification affects the vertical distribution of microplastics in a deep reservoir. The study found for the first time that thermal stratification interfaces act as buffer areas that retard microplastic sinking, with a size-selection phenomenon where larger microplastics (over 300 micrometers) were particularly susceptible to accumulation at these density transition zones.
Does water column stratification influence the vertical distribution of microplastics?
Researchers investigated whether water column stratification affects the vertical distribution of microplastics in the Kattegat and Skagerrak seas near Denmark. They found that microplastic concentrations were significantly higher below the pycnocline, the boundary layer between water masses of different densities. The study suggests that density-driven stratification acts as a barrier that traps microplastics in deeper water layers, which has important implications for understanding marine pollution distribution.
Particle-driven convection across stable and unstable density interfaces
Researchers conducted laboratory experiments to investigate how particle-laden flows behave when crossing stable and unstable density interfaces, motivated by the need to understand how sediments and microplastics transported by rivers are distributed through ocean stratification. The results clarify the physical mechanisms controlling whether particles accumulate at density interfaces or settle to the seafloor, with direct relevance to tracking where ocean-bound microplastics ultimately accumulate.
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.
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.
Microplastics accumulate to thin layers in the stratified Baltic Sea
Researchers found that microplastics accumulate preferentially at density-driven stratification layers (halocline and thermocline) in the Baltic Sea, demonstrating that water column stratification significantly influences microplastic vertical distribution and may concentrate particles at biologically active depth boundaries.
Buoyancy and Brownian motion of plastics in aqueous media: predictions and implications for density separation and aerosol internal mixing state
Researchers developed predictive models for the buoyancy and Brownian motion of nano- and microplastics in aqueous systems, demonstrating that particle density, size, and liquid phase density together determine whether plastics float or diffuse, with implications for density-separation methods and aerosol mixing states.
Modeling the trajectories of floating and non-floating microplastic particles in the water column
Researchers modeled the trajectories of both floating and non-floating microplastic particles in freshwater and marine water columns, accounting for turbulence-induced mixing, buoyancy differences, and flow characteristics that determine vertical and horizontal distribution. The study highlights that while low-density polymers like polyethylene and polypropylene are expected to concentrate at the surface, turbulent mixing drives significant depth distribution across aquatic environments.
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.
Transport of Microplastic and Dispersed Oil Co-contaminants in the Marine Environment
Researchers investigated the transport behavior of microplastic-oil-dispersant agglomerates in simulated ocean systems, finding that over 90% of heavy oil agglomerates stayed at the surface while light oil agglomerates sank, influenced by salinity and mineral concentrations.
The role of turbulence in the deposition of intrinsically buoyant MPs
This flume study found that turbulence causes the vertical velocity of buoyant polyethylene microplastics to vary over 4 orders of magnitude compared to their rise rate in still water, explaining how lighter-than-water particles end up deposited in river and lake sediments.
Entrainment and vertical mixing of aquatic microplastics in turbulent flow: The coupled role of particle size and density
Researchers conducted laboratory flume experiments to study how turbulence affects the vertical mixing and entrainment of microplastic particles of different sizes and densities. Both particle size and polymer density significantly influenced mixing behavior, with smaller and denser particles more responsive to turbulent structures, informing models of microplastic transport in rivers and coastal waters.
Determination of Microplastics’ Vertical Concentration Transport (Rouse) Profiles in Flumes
Researchers determined vertical concentration transport profiles of microplastic particles in flow channels, coupling experimental measurements with Rouse theory to better understand how microplastics with densities near water behave in fluvial environments.
Influence of pycnocline on settling behaviour of non-spherical particle and wake evolution
Lab experiments found that disk-shaped particles crossing ocean density boundaries experience unexpected settling dynamics due to wake-stratification interactions. Understanding how non-spherical particles like microplastic fragments behave in stratified waters helps explain where ocean plastics accumulate at depth.
Trapped microplastics within vertical redeposited sediment: Experimental study simulating lake and channeled river systems during resuspension events
Researchers simulated sediment resuspension events to study how microplastics of different densities, sizes, and shapes become trapped within redeposited sediment layers, finding that particle properties strongly influence vertical redistribution patterns in lake and river systems.
Quantifying microplastic dispersion due to density effects
This laboratory study measured how different types of microplastics move through water based on their density, finding that denser plastics settle to the bottom in slow-moving water while lighter ones travel like dissolved particles. Understanding how microplastics spread in rivers is important because it helps predict where plastic contamination will accumulate and which water sources face the greatest risk of exposure.
Aggregation of Slightly Buoyant Microplastics in Three-Dimensional Vortex Flows
This modeling study found that slightly buoyant microplastics preferentially accumulate in vorticity-dominated regions below the ocean surface in three-dimensional eddy flows. This explains why microplastics are found throughout the water column rather than just at the surface, and has implications for their ingestion by organisms at various depths.
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.
Stratification-induced reorientation of disk settling through ambient density transition
Researchers found that flat, disk-shaped particles sinking through layered (density-stratified) water — like the ocean — undergo dramatic, unexpected changes in speed and tilt angle, passing through five distinct settling phases; this matters for understanding how non-spherical particles like microplastic fragments travel through the water column.
Where Is All the Plastic? How Microplastic Partitions across Environmental Compartments within a Large Pelagic In-Lake Mesocosm
Researchers tracked how microplastic fragments of varying buoyancy partition among water column, sediment, and surface film compartments in an experimental aquatic system, finding that particle density and biofouling strongly determine where MPs ultimately accumulate in the environment.
Submesoscale eddies and their potential for buoyant microplastic accumulation
This study investigates how small ocean eddies called submesoscale eddies can trap and concentrate buoyant microplastics below the water surface, not just at the top. Using both physical oceanographic measurements and laboratory experiments, researchers found that these rotating water masses create subsurface attractors that pull floating particles downward. This matters because it helps explain why microplastics are found throughout the water column rather than only at the surface, complicating efforts to clean up or track ocean plastic pollution.
Factors influencing the vertical distribution and transport of plastics in riverine environments: Theoretical background and implications for improved field study design.
This review examines the physical and hydrodynamic factors governing the vertical distribution and transport of plastics in riverine environments, synthesizing theoretical background on settling velocity, turbulence, and buoyancy to provide recommendations for improved field study design.
Seasonal disparities in vertical distributions of microplastics and driving factors in a deep reservoir
Researchers studied microplastic distribution at different depths in a deep reservoir in southwest China and found that concentrations generally increased from the water surface to the bottom. The study revealed seasonal differences in vertical transport patterns, with low-density polymers like polyethylene dominating surface waters while denser particles accumulated in deeper layers.
The role of biofilm and hydrodynamics on the fate of microplastic particles in rivers: an experimental study
Researchers conducted flume and field experiments to examine how biofilm formation and hydrodynamic conditions govern the fate of microplastic particles in rivers, investigating why some MP-polluted rivers crossing industrialized areas show no significant upstream-to-downstream concentration differences. The study identified biofilm-mediated density changes and turbulence as key factors controlling whether low-density MPs remain suspended or settle into sediments.