Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Uncovering microplastic surface transport pathways in the North Sea using Lagrangian coherent structures

This thesis used Lagrangian coherent structures — mathematical features of ocean flow — to identify the dominant pathways for microplastic transport across the surface of the North Sea. Understanding how ocean currents concentrate and move microplastics helps predict where marine life faces the highest exposure risk.

2019
Article Tier 2

Extraction of persistent lagrangian coherent structures for the pollutant transport prediction in the Bay of Bengal

Researchers mapped long-term ocean circulation patterns in the Bay of Bengal using 24 years of current and wind data to identify persistent flow structures (called Lagrangian Coherent Structures) that control where pollutants travel. These maps were validated against real oil spill satellite imagery and could be used to predict where future oil spills — or floating plastic debris — would accumulate.

2024 Scientific Reports 5 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Lagrangian characterization of surface transport from the Equatorial Atlantic to the Caribbean Sea using climatological Lagrangian Coherent Structures and Self-Organizing Maps

Scientists used climate data and computational modeling to map ocean current pathways that carry floating material from the Equatorial Atlantic to the Caribbean Sea. Understanding these transport routes is essential for predicting where marine plastic debris — including microplastics — accumulates in the ocean.

2023 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Marine Litter Windrows: A Strategic Target to Understand and Manage the Ocean Plastic Pollution

This paper introduces the concept of marine litter windrows as naturally occurring surface aggregations of floating debris driven by Langmuir circulation, arguing these zones represent strategic targets for monitoring and removal of ocean plastic pollution.

2021 Frontiers in Marine Science 68 citations
Article Tier 2

Kepadatan dan pola transport sampah laut terapung di pesisir barat perairan Teluk Ambon Luar

This Indonesian study measured the density and transport patterns of floating marine litter on the western coast of Outer Ambon Bay, finding high volumes of plastic debris with clear spatial patterns driven by currents and tides. The data can inform placement of debris interception systems in this Indonesian coastal city.

2021 Jurnal Penelitian Sains 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Predicting the exposure of coastal species to plastic pollution in a complex island archipelago.

This study used a fine-resolution hydrodynamic model to predict where plastic pollution accumulates along the Whitsunday Islands in Australia, finding that both local and distant sources contribute to exposure risks for coral reefs, mangroves, and sea turtle nesting sites. The results demonstrate that locally targeted management can meaningfully reduce plastic exposure to high-value coastal habitats.

2019 Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)
Article Tier 2

Marine macro debris transport based on hydrodynamic model before and after reclamation in Jakarta Bay, Indonesia

This hydrodynamic modeling study predicted how marine debris would move in Jakarta Bay before and after planned land reclamation, finding that the new island configuration would alter debris transport patterns. The study is relevant to understanding how coastal development affects the distribution of plastic waste.

2020 Malaysian Journal of Applied Sciences 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Simulation of Marine Debris Path Using Mathematical Model in the Gulf of Thailand

Researchers simulated the trajectory of marine debris in the Gulf of Thailand using a coupled Oceanic Model based on Shallow Water Equations and a Lagrangian Particle Tracking model, applying six buoyancy ratio scenarios to a 2020 capsized garbage boat near Koh Samui to predict debris dispersion patterns under combined current and wind forcing.

2022 Axioms 3 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2011 Marine Pollution Bulletin 661 citations
Article Tier 2

A First Attempt to Describe the Real-Time Behavior and Fate of Marine Litter Items in the Nearshore and Foreshore under Low Energetic Marine Conditions

Researchers conducted a field study in southern Italy to observe how common marine litter items move in real time through nearshore waters under calm conditions. They tracked items at different water depths and compared observed movements to theoretical predictions based on wind and wave currents. The study found that litter behavior varied by item type and depth, providing valuable data for improving marine debris transport models.

2024 Water 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Using hydrodynamic models to understand the impacts and risks of plastic pollution

This paper used hydrodynamic computer models to simulate the transport and accumulation of plastic pollution in estuarine and coastal environments. The approach helps predict where marine litter concentrates based on currents and geography, which is useful for targeting cleanup efforts and informing coastal management policies.

2018 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Role 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.

2019 Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans 71 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification of Microplastic Accumulation Zones in a Tidal River: A Case Study of the Fraser River, British Columbia, Canada

Researchers used a 3D hydrodynamic model coupled with a Lagrangian particle tracking model to simulate microplastic transport and identify accumulation zones in the tidal Fraser River in British Columbia. The modelling identified specific depositional hotspots linked to flow velocity gradients, providing a framework for targeted monitoring and remediation.

2025 Sustainability
Article Tier 2

A Simplified Experimental Method to Estimate the Transport of Non-Buoyant Plastic Particles Due to Waves by 2D Image Processing

Not a microplastics paper in the strict sense — this study develops and validates an image-processing method to track the movement of non-buoyant plastic debris particles under wave action in a laboratory wave tank, advancing the physical modeling tools used to predict where plastic pollution accumulates in coastal environments.

2023 Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 9 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2017 Frontiers in Environmental Science 136 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Simulating the distribution of beached litter on the northwest coast of Scotland

Researchers combined Marine Conservation Society citizen-science beach-clean data with hydrodynamic and particle-tracking models to simulate the distribution of beached plastic litter along the sparsely populated northwest coast of Scotland, using the Clyde Sea as a source region to investigate transport pathways across complex island and sea-loch coastlines.

2022 Frontiers in Environmental Science 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of floating debris transport in Puttalam lagoon

Researchers assessed floating debris transport dynamics within Puttalam Lagoon in Sri Lanka using hydrodynamic modelling, simulating pollutant movement patterns to predict accumulation zones and inform management strategies for reducing plastic and debris contamination in this coastal lagoon ecosystem.

2025
Article Tier 2

Physical Control on Marine Debris Spreading around Muara Gembong, Jakarta Bay

Researchers used numerical modelling combined with artificial debris pathway analysis to investigate how marine debris from the Citarum River disperses around Muara Gembong in Jakarta Bay, finding that debris trajectory patterns differ substantially between the northwest and southeast monsoon seasons due to varying ocean currents, tides, and wind patterns.

2022 Journal of Ecological Engineering 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Marine Debris Pathway Across Indonesian Boundary Seas

Lagrangian particle-tracking simulations modeled marine debris trajectories across Indonesian boundary seas, finding that complex ocean circulation patterns and monsoon seasonality strongly influence debris accumulation zones and cross-border transport in this archipelago region.

2021 Journal of Ecological Engineering 60 citations
Article Tier 2

A probabilistic Lagrangian numerical model to assess the impact of floating marine litter on Barcelona city beaches

Researchers developed a probabilistic Lagrangian numerical model using the Monte Carlo method to assess the impact of floating marine litter on Barcelona beaches, combining observational data from four terrestrial debris sources with the LOCATE coastal transport model. They found that wave height, proximity to debris sources, and coastline orientation were the primary drivers of beaching intensity along the Barcelona coastline.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems 6 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 4 citations