Article
Engineering, Chemical
Xuejun Xiong, Tom Bond, Muhammad Saboor Siddique, Wenzheng Yu
Summary: Research has shown that dissolved organic carbon from plastics can stimulate microbial activity in the ocean, but not in freshwater systems. Microplastics, specifically polyethylene (PE), were found to increase microbial activity and extracellular polymeric substance production in natural surface water. The presence of microplastics led to a more hydrophobic and dense biofouling layer on membranes, with specific components of extracellular polymeric substances aggravating membrane fouling. Microbial diversity was also affected by the addition of microplastics in the water.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Veronica Nava, Miguel G. Matias, Andreu Castillo-Escriva, Beata Messyasz, Barbara Leoni
Summary: Various organisms can colonize microplastic surfaces through biofouling processes, with microalgae being a key component of the biofilm. Research shows that microplastics can support a diverse community of microalgae, but environmental conditions and nutrient concentration seem to play a more crucial role in determining species diversity and coexistence.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Claude Kiki, Adenike Bernice Eloise Adeoye, Xi Li, Xiaopeng Yan, Jinlu Feng, Chang-Ping Yu, Qian Sun
Summary: Recent studies have conflicting results on the effects of biofouling on microplastics adsorption behavior in aquatic environments. This study examined the interactions between polyamide, poly-vinyl chloride, polyethylene, and two phytoplankton species. Results showed that the effects of microplastics on phytoplankton were dose and crystalline-type dependent. Antibiotic adsorption analysis revealed significant contributions from different interactions on different types of microplastics, which decreased with biofouling and aging. This study provides insights into the specific mechanisms of biofouling on microplastics adsorption.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Juliette Daily, Anna Christina Tyler, Matthew J. Hoffman
Summary: Studies have shown that the amount of plastic pollution in the oceans and Great Lakes is significantly lower than predicted. Some plastics sink in the water due to their higher density. This research investigates the effects of biofouling on plastic density and deposition rates, and provides an initial estimate of sediment deposition rate in Lake Ontario using a hydrodynamic model.
JOURNAL OF GREAT LAKES RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Liuwei Wang, Pengfei Li, Qi Zhang, Wei-Min Wu, Jian Luo, Deyi Hou
Summary: The study investigates the size distribution of microplastics in the soil environment, revealing trends in the size changes of microplastics under different land use settings and proposing conditional aging as a controlling factor for the size distribution. The model is suitable for describing the size distribution of microplastics from different sources and aging processes, and can be used for various research purposes such as source identification, transport modeling, and risk assessment.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Georgiana Amariei, Roberto Rosal, Francisca Fernandez-Pinas, Albert A. Koelmans
Summary: Ingestion of microplastics by aquatic organisms can have both harmful and beneficial effects, and the net effect of these two mechanisms can be quantified. This study found that organisms grew better when exposed to biofouled microplastics compared to pristine microplastics. These results contradict previous studies and suggest that the widely accepted notion of unambiguously adverse microplastic effects is not ecologically justifiable.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Bjarke Eltard Larsen, Mustafa Ali Abdullah Al-Obaidi, Hasan Gokhan Guler, Stefan Carstensen, Koray Deniz Goral, Erik Damgaard Christensen, Nils B. Kerpen, Torsten Schlurmann, David R. Fuhrman
Summary: This paper presents experimental measurements of beaching times for buoyant microplastic particles released in different areas of the beach. The study finds that the microplastics travel onshore with a velocity close to the Lagrangian fluid particle velocity before breaking, and their velocities increase and become closer to the wave celerity in the surf zone. It is also observed that particles with lower Dean numbers are transported at higher mean velocities.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sedat Gundogdu, Berna Ayat, Burak Aydogan, Cem Cevik, Serkan Karaca
Summary: This study assessed the pollution level of microplastic pellets on coastal beaches in Iskenderun Bay, Turkey, and investigated the impact of hydrometeorological conditions on the transport of these pellets. The results showed that wind-induced transport was the main factor affecting the concentration of pellet pollution on the beaches, while river discharges were identified as the major source of microplastic pellets.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ben Stride, Soroush Abolfathi, M. G. N. Odara, Gary D. Bending, Jonathan Pearson
Summary: This study investigates the physical interactions of microplastics within vegetation and turbulent flows of freshwater systems. It develops a hydrodynamic model to quantify the mixing of microplastics in submerged canopies and demonstrates the capability of robust predictions for microplastic transport and fate. The study highlights the correlation between dispersion coefficients of microplastics and solutes within submerged model vegetation.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Winnie Courtene-Jones, Simon van Gennip, Juliette Penicaud, Emily Penn, Richard C. Thompson
Summary: This study quantified microplastics in the North Atlantic Ocean and its subtropical gyre, revealing high concentrations of polymer fragments in the gyre and dominant presence of polyamide and polyester fibers in the subsurface water. Lagrangian simulations showed connectivity patterns of microplastics. Continued monitoring is necessary to address knowledge gaps and assess spatio-temporal trends.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Victor Onink, Mikael L. A. Kaandorp, Erik van Sebille, Charlotte Laufkoetter
Summary: Microplastic particles move three-dimensionally through the ocean, and their transport is influenced by particle size and density. Beach-based fragmentation is the dominant process, while ocean-based fragmentation has minor influence. Fragmentation is a slow process and does not have a major impact on the large-scale distribution and mass loss of microplastics over short time periods.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Mandy Wing Kwan So, Lyle Dennis Vorsatz, Stefano Cannicci, Christelle Not
Summary: A study on mangrove crabs reveals their ability to rapidly break down macro-sized foamed plastics into microplastics through feeding behaviors, highlighting the contribution of macrofauna to microplastic formation. The production of plastic fragments varied with crab species and plastic conditions, suggesting an association with foraging and feeding behaviors. This research emphasizes the importance of considering macrofaunal fragmentation when modeling the source and pathways of plastics in the environment.
REGIONAL STUDIES IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Physics, Applied
Samantha Phan, Christine K. Luscombe
Summary: The increase in global demand for plastics, especially during the pandemic, has raised concerns about plastic waste and microplastic pollution. Efficient monitoring of microplastics is crucial for understanding their long-term effects and behavior in the environment. Numerical models and machine learning tools can aid in studying microplastic transport and provide more accurate predictions, helping to optimize monitoring efforts and improve understanding of microplastics in marine environments.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
G. Shiravani, D. Oberrecht, L. Roscher, S. Kernchen, M. Halbach, M. Gerriets, B. M. Scholz-Bottcher, T. H. Badewien, A. Wurpts
Summary: Microplastic (MP) pollution poses a significant challenge to both human life and the natural system. The irresponsible handling of plastics in daily life has led to a rapid contamination of air, water, and soil with MP. This study focuses on the modeling of MP transport and interaction with fine sediment in estuarine turbidity zones (ETZ), proposing a new approach to improve the formulation of MP settling velocity in these conditions. The model results indicate higher concentrations of MP in ETZ, both in the water column and the bed sediment, which is supported by measurements. Additionally, the model suggests that smaller MP particles are more likely to escape the ETZ and move towards the open sea.
Review
Engineering, Environmental
Deepa Suresh, Pei Sean Goh, Ahmad Fauzi Ismail, Tuck Whye Wong
Summary: This review discusses conventional and advanced biofouling evaluation techniques used in reverse osmosis membranes, covering the fundamentals, mechanisms, impacts, and prevention strategies of reverse osmosis biofouling. While conventional techniques offer versatility and ease of use, advanced methods provide real-time and accurate monitoring, allowing for timely cleaning and improved performance.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Bram van Duinen, Mikael L. A. Kaandorp, Erik van Sebille
Summary: Beaches are considered a large reservoir for marine plastics, and understanding the sources of plastic on beaches is crucial for protection. Research shows that the main sources of plastic arriving at a beach in southwest Netherlands are the east coast of the UK, the Dutch coast, the English Channel, and several rivers.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Addison Rice, Peter D. Nooteboom, Erik Sebille, Francien Peterse, Martin Ziegler, Appy Sluijs
Summary: This study examines the transport bias of lipid-biomarker-based SST proxies in the Mediterranean Sea and finds that lateral transport has a negligible impact on the uncertainties of the two commonly applied proxies.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Daan Reijnders, Eric Deleersnijder, Erik Sebille
Summary: Coarse-resolution Eulerian ocean models use tracer diffusion parameterizations to capture the effects of mesoscale turbulent eddies. Parameterizations are also needed for eddy dispersion in Lagrangian simulations. This study compares random walk dispersion and the Markov-1 model, finding that Markov-1 produces Lagrangian trajectories that better resemble trajectories from eddy-resolving simulations.
JOURNAL OF ADVANCES IN MODELING EARTH SYSTEMS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Peter D. Nooteboom, Joe Scutt Phillips, Christian Kehl, Simon Nicol, Erik van Sebille
Summary: This article presents a model to investigate the influence of tuna dynamics below the scale of 100 km on larger scales. The model considers the interactions between tuna, fish aggregating devices (FADs), and prey. The study finds that the model simulations compare well with observations at smaller scales, but show differences in emergent dynamics at larger scales due to variations in flow configurations.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Christian Kehl, Peter D. Nooteboom, Mikael L. A. Kaandorp, Erik van Sebille
Summary: This paper assesses the applicability of performance enhancing techniques from Eulerian simulators to Lagrangian simulators and proposes a performance enhancement strategy specifically targeting physics-based Lagrangian particle simulations. Through experiments, it is found that I/O enhancing techniques and cache-efficient data structures significantly improve the speed of Lagrangian physics simulations, while other alternative data structures do not achieve the theoretically-expected performance increase.
COMPUTERS & GEOSCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Limnology
Federica Guerrini, Delphine Lobelle, Lorenzo Mari, Renato Casagrandi, Erik van Sebille
Summary: Marine microplastics can be colonized by biofouling microbial organisms, leading to a decrease in buoyancy. The sinking of biofouled microplastics could represent a new carbon export pathway in the ocean carbon cycle.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Fisheries
Peter D. Nooteboom, Joe Scutt Phillips, Inna Senina, Erik van Sebille, Simon Nicol
Summary: Catch per unit of fishing effort (CPUE) is commonly used as an indicator of tuna abundance, assuming a proportional relationship between the two. However, this paper shows that simulated catch is best modeled by a non-linear dependence on both tuna and dFAD abundance. This finding suggests that estimators of CPUE at the population scale may be biased when assuming a linear catch response.
ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Stefanie L. Ypma, Quinten Bohte, Alexander Forryan, Alberto C. Naveira Garabato, Andy Donnelly, Erik van Sebille
Summary: In order to address the pollution problem in the Galapagos Islands, a methodology based on network theory and Lagrangian simulation was developed to identify the most effective cleanup locations. This approach provides guidance for optimizing cleanup efforts in heavily polluted regions with limited resources and unknown distribution of marine plastic debris.
Article
Ecology
Reint Fischer, Delphine Lobelle, Merel Kooi, Albert Koelmans, Victor Onink, Charlotte Laufkoetter, Linda Amaral-Zettler, Andrew Yool, Erik van Sebille
Summary: The fate of (micro)plastic particles in the open ocean is determined by biological and physical processes. The attachment, growth, and loss of algae on the particles, as well as wind-induced mixing and the sinking velocity of the particles, affect the vertical distribution of the particles.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Melanie Bergmann, France Collard, Joan Fabres, Geir W. Gabrielsen, Jennifer F. Provencher, Chelsea M. Rochman, Erik van Sebille, Mine B. Tekman
Summary: Plastic debris and microplastics are widespread in the Arctic, even in areas without human activity. They come from various sources, both local and distant, and are transported to the Arctic by ocean currents, atmospheric transport, and rivers. Once in the Arctic, plastic pollution accumulates and affects local ecosystems.
NATURE REVIEWS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Victor Onink, Erik van Sebille, Charlotte Laufkotter
Summary: This study presents 1D parametrizations of wind-driven turbulent mixing in the ocean surface mixed layer and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of different vertical diffusion coefficients. The results show that these models can be applied to studying the behavior of buoyant particles in the ocean.
GEOSCIENTIFIC MODEL DEVELOPMENT
(2022)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Mikael L. A. Kaandorp, Stefanie L. Ypma, Marijke Boonstra, Henk A. Dijkstra, Erik van Sebille
Summary: This study investigates the accumulation of litter on the Dutch North Sea coast and identifies the influence of tides and coastline characteristics through a machine learning regression model. Understanding these processes can lead to more effective litter removal recommendations.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Peter D. Nooteboom, Peter K. Bijl, Christian Kehl, Erik van Sebille, Martin Ziegler, Anna S. von der Heydt, Henk A. Dijkstra
Summary: By simulating sinking particles in a global ocean model, the study reveals the impact of ocean currents on the composition of sedimentary microplankton. The detection of ocean bottom provinces in sedimentary microplankton datasets highlights their significance for paleoceanographic reconstruction.
EARTH SYSTEM DYNAMICS
(2022)