Sinking microplastics in the water column: simulations in the Mediterranean Sea

<p>We study the vertical dispersion and distribution of negatively buoyant rigid microplastics within a realistic circulation model of the Mediterranean sea. We first propose an equation describing their idealized dynamics. In that framework, we evaluate the importance of some relevant physica...

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Main Authors: R. de la Fuente, G. Drótos, E. Hernández-García, C. López, E. van Sebille
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2021-03-01
Series:Ocean Science
Online Access:https://os.copernicus.org/articles/17/431/2021/os-17-431-2021.pdf
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spelling doaj-96087084468a4368b9b51caac7814e532021-03-09T14:08:12ZengCopernicus PublicationsOcean Science1812-07841812-07922021-03-011743145310.5194/os-17-431-2021Sinking microplastics in the water column: simulations in the Mediterranean SeaR. de la Fuente0G. Drótos1G. Drótos2E. Hernández-García3C. López4E. van Sebille5E. van Sebille6IFISC (CSIC-UIB), Campus Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma de Mallorca, SpainIFISC (CSIC-UIB), Campus Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma de Mallorca, SpainMTA–ELTE Theoretical Physics Research Group, Budapest, HungaryIFISC (CSIC-UIB), Campus Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma de Mallorca, SpainIFISC (CSIC-UIB), Campus Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma de Mallorca, SpainInstitute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the NetherlandsCentre for Complex Systems Studies, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands<p>We study the vertical dispersion and distribution of negatively buoyant rigid microplastics within a realistic circulation model of the Mediterranean sea. We first propose an equation describing their idealized dynamics. In that framework, we evaluate the importance of some relevant physical effects (inertia, Coriolis force, small-scale turbulence and variable seawater density), and we bound the relative error of simplifying the dynamics to a constant sinking velocity added to a large-scale velocity field. We then calculate the amount and vertical distribution of microplastic particles on the water column of the open ocean if their release from the sea surface is continuous at rates compatible with observations in the Mediterranean. The vertical distribution is found to be almost uniform with depth for the majority of our parameter range. Transient distributions from flash releases reveal a non-Gaussian character of the dispersion and various diffusion laws, both normal and anomalous. The origin of these behaviors is explored in terms of horizontal and vertical flow organization.</p>https://os.copernicus.org/articles/17/431/2021/os-17-431-2021.pdf
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author R. de la Fuente
G. Drótos
G. Drótos
E. Hernández-García
C. López
E. van Sebille
E. van Sebille
spellingShingle R. de la Fuente
G. Drótos
G. Drótos
E. Hernández-García
C. López
E. van Sebille
E. van Sebille
Sinking microplastics in the water column: simulations in the Mediterranean Sea
Ocean Science
author_facet R. de la Fuente
G. Drótos
G. Drótos
E. Hernández-García
C. López
E. van Sebille
E. van Sebille
author_sort R. de la Fuente
title Sinking microplastics in the water column: simulations in the Mediterranean Sea
title_short Sinking microplastics in the water column: simulations in the Mediterranean Sea
title_full Sinking microplastics in the water column: simulations in the Mediterranean Sea
title_fullStr Sinking microplastics in the water column: simulations in the Mediterranean Sea
title_full_unstemmed Sinking microplastics in the water column: simulations in the Mediterranean Sea
title_sort sinking microplastics in the water column: simulations in the mediterranean sea
publisher Copernicus Publications
series Ocean Science
issn 1812-0784
1812-0792
publishDate 2021-03-01
description <p>We study the vertical dispersion and distribution of negatively buoyant rigid microplastics within a realistic circulation model of the Mediterranean sea. We first propose an equation describing their idealized dynamics. In that framework, we evaluate the importance of some relevant physical effects (inertia, Coriolis force, small-scale turbulence and variable seawater density), and we bound the relative error of simplifying the dynamics to a constant sinking velocity added to a large-scale velocity field. We then calculate the amount and vertical distribution of microplastic particles on the water column of the open ocean if their release from the sea surface is continuous at rates compatible with observations in the Mediterranean. The vertical distribution is found to be almost uniform with depth for the majority of our parameter range. Transient distributions from flash releases reveal a non-Gaussian character of the dispersion and various diffusion laws, both normal and anomalous. The origin of these behaviors is explored in terms of horizontal and vertical flow organization.</p>
url https://os.copernicus.org/articles/17/431/2021/os-17-431-2021.pdf
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