Selective transport of microplastics and mesoplastics by drifting in coastal waters

The vertical distribution of buoyant plastics at sea: an observational study in the North Atlantic Gyre

“…As shown here, and in two modelling studies (Ballent et al, 2012;Isobe et al, 2014), vertical mixing affects the size distribution of plastics floating at the surface. We observed that the proportion of plastics mixed into deeper waters increases towards smaller sizes even under low wind speed (1 kn) conditions (see Fig.…”

“…A model developed by Kukulka et al (2012) predicted that the largest decrease in plastic concentration occurs over the first metres of the water column, where only a few low-resolution measurements exist (Lattin et al, 2004;Doyle et al, 2011;Kukulka et al, 2012;Isobe et al, 2014). As studying ocean turbulent transport is heavily dependent on observations (Ballent et al, 2012;D'Asaro, 2014), high-resolution multi-level plastic sampling is urgently needed to test this prediction.…”

“…As studying ocean turbulent transport is heavily dependent on observations (Ballent et al, 2012;D'Asaro, 2014), high-resolution multi-level plastic sampling is urgently needed to test this prediction. A better understanding of the vertical transport of buoyant plastics is fundamental for improving estimates of concentration, size distribution, and dispersal of plastics in the world's ocean (Kukulka et al, 2012;Reisser et al, 2013;Law et al, 2014;Isobe et al, 2014).…”

Combining Litter Observations with a Regional Ocean Model to Identify Sources and Sinks of Floating Debris in a Semi-enclosed Basin: The Adriatic Sea

“…Identifying sources and sinks of AMD can assist resource managers maximize the effectiveness of prevention and response efforts by providing scientific support to the implementation of public policies. While progress has been made, most relevant studies either relied on observations of beached AMD (Yoon et al, 2010;Kako et al, 2011Kako et al, , 2014Neumann et al, 2014), made assumptions about the amount of AMD as well as its temporal and/or spatial distributions (Lebreton et al, 2012;Critchell et al, 2015;Mansui et al, 2015;Liubartseva et al, 2016), or used coarse resolution velocity data and/or idealized surface currents (Aliani and Molcard, 2003;Maximenko et al, 2012;van Sebille et al, 2012;Reisser et al, 2013;Isobe et al, 2014). Such studies have identified the physical processes relevant to the transport and accumulation of debris, however, the efficacy of models in aiding management efforts depends strongly on the assumptions applied in the particle tracking scheme (Critchell and Lambrechts, 2016) as well as the resolution and accuracy of the underlying velocity field (Putman and He, 2013).…”

The flip-or-flop boutique: Marine debris on the shores of St Brandon's rock, an isolated tropical atoll in the Indian Ocean

“…all play a role from global to very small scales (e.g. Abu-Hilal and Al-Najjar, 2004;Browne et al, 2010;Cunningham and Wilson, Duhec et al, 2015;Goldstein et al, 2013;Isobe et al, 2014;Lebreton et al, 2012;Leite et al, 2014;Poeta et al, 2014;Ryan, 2013;Titmus and Hyrenbach, 2011;Turra et al, 2014). These influences may affect debris deposition even at remote beaches, and therefore also on their management.…”