Articles | Volume 19, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2211-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2211-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Modelling submerged biofouled microplastics and their vertical trajectories
Reint Fischer
Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Merel Kooi
Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
Albert Koelmans
Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
Victor Onink
Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Charlotte Laufkötter
Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Linda Amaral-Zettler
Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, the Netherlands
Andrew Yool
National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK
Erik van Sebille
Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Centre for Complex Systems Studies, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
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50 citations as recorded by crossref.
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- Impact of Stokes drift and washing-off on the pathways and accumulation of microplastics originating from a subtropical estuary C. Cai et al.
- From inshore to offshore: distribution of microplastics in three Italian seawaters A. Sbrana et al.
- Pelagic microplastics in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre: A prevalent anthropogenic component of the particulate organic carbon pool S. Zhao et al.
- Environmental implications of biofouling on plastic debris in the multifunction port of Genoa (Italy) A. Volpe et al.
- Influence of Particle Size and Fragmentation on Large-Scale Microplastic Transport in the Mediterranean Sea V. Onink et al.
- Life cycle impact assessment framework for assessing physical effects on biota of marine microplastics emissions C. Hajjar et al.
- Why biofouling cannot contribute to the vertical transport of small microplastic I. Benner & U. Passow
- Modeling carbon export mediated by biofouled microplastics in the Mediterranean Sea F. Guerrini et al.
- Microplastic ingestion induces energy loss on the copepod Tigriopus koreanus J. Park et al.
- The distribution of subsurface microplastics in the ocean S. Zhao et al.
- Toward Optimizing Microplastic Transport Models through Biofouling Experiments D. van Grootheest et al.
- Global-Scale Dynamics of Ocean Plastics A. Isobe
- Numerical plastic transport modelling in fluvial systems: Review and formulation of boundary conditions C. Wickramarachchi et al.
- Microplastics in bays: Transport processes and numerical models K. Senathirajah & C. Pattiaratchi
- Biofilm-induced effect on the buoyancy of plastic debris: An experimental study P. Núñez et al.
- Vertical transport of buoyant microplastic particles in the ocean: The role of turbulence and biofouling T. Sugathapala et al.
- Identifying influencing physical and environmental parameters on fate and characterization factors for microplastic emissions in the marine environment C. Hajjar et al.
- Mathematical modelling and simulations for microplastic environmental research: a systematic review M. de Oliveira et al.
- Low-Density Plastic Debris Dispersion beneath the Mediterranean Sea Surface A. Baudena et al.
- Microplastic biodegradability dependent responses of plastisphere antibiotic resistance to simulated freshwater-seawater shift in onshore marine aquaculture zones Q. Zhou et al.
- Disentangling marine plastic impacts in Life Cycle Assessment: Spatially explicit Characterization Factors for ecosystem quality M. Høiberg et al.
- Marine snow as vectors for microplastic transport: Multiple aggregation cycles account for the settling of buoyant microplastics to deep‐sea sediments N. Wu et al.
- Slow biological microplastics removal under ocean pollution phase-out trajectories Z. Azimrayat Andrews et al.
- Global mass of buoyant marine plastics dominated by large long-lived debris M. Kaandorp et al.
- Regionally disparate ecological responses to microplastic slowing of faecal pellets yields coherent carbon cycle response K. Kvale et al.
- Degradation and habitat-dependent colonization of plastics in Caribbean coastal waters and sediments by bacterial communities M. Goudriaan et al.
- Attribution of Plastic Sources Using Bayesian Inference: Application to River-Sourced Floating Plastic in the South Atlantic Ocean C. Pierard et al.
- Vertical Distribution and Composition of Plastics in Coastal Areas of the Gulf of Cádiz: Insights into Transport Dynamics R. Quintana et al.
- Seasonal effects of hydrodynamics and biofouling on the vertical transport of microplastics in the Vietnam coastal region, South China Sea C. Cai et al.
- Surface dispersion of coastal discharges in North America towards the Great Pacific Garbage Patch M. Amador & L. Sansón
- Efficiently simulating Lagrangian particles in large-scale ocean flows — Data structures and their impact on geophysical applications C. Kehl et al.
- The Dynamics of Buoyant Microplastic in the Ocean Forced by Unsteady Insolation H. Kreczak et al.
- The effects of plastisphere on the physicochemical properties of microplastics K. Tang & R. Li
- Zooplankton as a suitable tool for microplastic research M. Alfonso et al.
- Assessment of spatial distribution, sources, and ecological risks of microplastics in the estuarine and coastal regions of the northern Bay of Bengal M. Islam et al.
- Effects of dissolved organic matter on the toxicity of micro- and nanoplastic particles to Daphnia - a meta-analysis S. Salomon et al.
- Modeling the pathways of microplastics in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea – sensitivity of parametrizations E. Siht et al.
- The combination of detection and simulation for the distribution and sourcing of microplastics in Shing Mun River estuary, Hong Kong H. Shen et al.
- Coupling fragmentation to a size-selective sedimentation model can quantify the long-term fate of buoyant plastics in the ocean N. Wu et al.
- Assessment of Air–Sea CO2 Flux in Global Surface Oceans Using Satellite Data I. Shaik et al.
- Impact of Water Level Fluctuation on Microplastic Transportation and Redistribution in a Floodplain Lake System Y. Zhang et al.
- Computational models to confront the complex pollution footprint of plastic in the environment M. MacLeod et al.
- Accumulation, transformation and transport of microplastics in estuarine fronts T. Wang et al.
- A comparison of Eulerian and Lagrangian methods for vertical particle transport in the water column T. Nordam et al.
- Oceanic realistic application of a microplastic biofouling model to the river discharge case T. Capuano et al.
- Modeling three-dimensional transport of microplastics and impacts of biofouling in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario J. Daily et al.
- The dynamics of biofouled particles in vortical flows H. Kreczak et al.
- Calcite carbonate sinks low-density plastic debris in open oceans X. Sun et al.
50 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Integrating Biofilm Growth and Degradation into a Model of Microplastic Transport in the Arctic Ocean E. Golubeva & M. Gradova
- Modeling Indian Ocean circulation to study marine debris dispersion: insights into high-resolution and wave forcing effects with Symphonie 3.6.6 L. Weiss et al.
- Impact of Stokes drift and washing-off on the pathways and accumulation of microplastics originating from a subtropical estuary C. Cai et al.
- From inshore to offshore: distribution of microplastics in three Italian seawaters A. Sbrana et al.
- Pelagic microplastics in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre: A prevalent anthropogenic component of the particulate organic carbon pool S. Zhao et al.
- Environmental implications of biofouling on plastic debris in the multifunction port of Genoa (Italy) A. Volpe et al.
- Influence of Particle Size and Fragmentation on Large-Scale Microplastic Transport in the Mediterranean Sea V. Onink et al.
- Life cycle impact assessment framework for assessing physical effects on biota of marine microplastics emissions C. Hajjar et al.
- Why biofouling cannot contribute to the vertical transport of small microplastic I. Benner & U. Passow
- Modeling carbon export mediated by biofouled microplastics in the Mediterranean Sea F. Guerrini et al.
- Microplastic ingestion induces energy loss on the copepod Tigriopus koreanus J. Park et al.
- The distribution of subsurface microplastics in the ocean S. Zhao et al.
- Toward Optimizing Microplastic Transport Models through Biofouling Experiments D. van Grootheest et al.
- Global-Scale Dynamics of Ocean Plastics A. Isobe
- Numerical plastic transport modelling in fluvial systems: Review and formulation of boundary conditions C. Wickramarachchi et al.
- Microplastics in bays: Transport processes and numerical models K. Senathirajah & C. Pattiaratchi
- Biofilm-induced effect on the buoyancy of plastic debris: An experimental study P. Núñez et al.
- Vertical transport of buoyant microplastic particles in the ocean: The role of turbulence and biofouling T. Sugathapala et al.
- Identifying influencing physical and environmental parameters on fate and characterization factors for microplastic emissions in the marine environment C. Hajjar et al.
- Mathematical modelling and simulations for microplastic environmental research: a systematic review M. de Oliveira et al.
- Low-Density Plastic Debris Dispersion beneath the Mediterranean Sea Surface A. Baudena et al.
- Microplastic biodegradability dependent responses of plastisphere antibiotic resistance to simulated freshwater-seawater shift in onshore marine aquaculture zones Q. Zhou et al.
- Disentangling marine plastic impacts in Life Cycle Assessment: Spatially explicit Characterization Factors for ecosystem quality M. Høiberg et al.
- Marine snow as vectors for microplastic transport: Multiple aggregation cycles account for the settling of buoyant microplastics to deep‐sea sediments N. Wu et al.
- Slow biological microplastics removal under ocean pollution phase-out trajectories Z. Azimrayat Andrews et al.
- Global mass of buoyant marine plastics dominated by large long-lived debris M. Kaandorp et al.
- Regionally disparate ecological responses to microplastic slowing of faecal pellets yields coherent carbon cycle response K. Kvale et al.
- Degradation and habitat-dependent colonization of plastics in Caribbean coastal waters and sediments by bacterial communities M. Goudriaan et al.
- Attribution of Plastic Sources Using Bayesian Inference: Application to River-Sourced Floating Plastic in the South Atlantic Ocean C. Pierard et al.
- Vertical Distribution and Composition of Plastics in Coastal Areas of the Gulf of Cádiz: Insights into Transport Dynamics R. Quintana et al.
- Seasonal effects of hydrodynamics and biofouling on the vertical transport of microplastics in the Vietnam coastal region, South China Sea C. Cai et al.
- Surface dispersion of coastal discharges in North America towards the Great Pacific Garbage Patch M. Amador & L. Sansón
- Efficiently simulating Lagrangian particles in large-scale ocean flows — Data structures and their impact on geophysical applications C. Kehl et al.
- The Dynamics of Buoyant Microplastic in the Ocean Forced by Unsteady Insolation H. Kreczak et al.
- The effects of plastisphere on the physicochemical properties of microplastics K. Tang & R. Li
- Zooplankton as a suitable tool for microplastic research M. Alfonso et al.
- Assessment of spatial distribution, sources, and ecological risks of microplastics in the estuarine and coastal regions of the northern Bay of Bengal M. Islam et al.
- Effects of dissolved organic matter on the toxicity of micro- and nanoplastic particles to Daphnia - a meta-analysis S. Salomon et al.
- Modeling the pathways of microplastics in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea – sensitivity of parametrizations E. Siht et al.
- The combination of detection and simulation for the distribution and sourcing of microplastics in Shing Mun River estuary, Hong Kong H. Shen et al.
- Coupling fragmentation to a size-selective sedimentation model can quantify the long-term fate of buoyant plastics in the ocean N. Wu et al.
- Assessment of Air–Sea CO2 Flux in Global Surface Oceans Using Satellite Data I. Shaik et al.
- Impact of Water Level Fluctuation on Microplastic Transportation and Redistribution in a Floodplain Lake System Y. Zhang et al.
- Computational models to confront the complex pollution footprint of plastic in the environment M. MacLeod et al.
- Accumulation, transformation and transport of microplastics in estuarine fronts T. Wang et al.
- A comparison of Eulerian and Lagrangian methods for vertical particle transport in the water column T. Nordam et al.
- Oceanic realistic application of a microplastic biofouling model to the river discharge case T. Capuano et al.
- Modeling three-dimensional transport of microplastics and impacts of biofouling in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario J. Daily et al.
- The dynamics of biofouled particles in vortical flows H. Kreczak et al.
- Calcite carbonate sinks low-density plastic debris in open oceans X. Sun et al.
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 06 May 2026
Short summary
Since current estimates show that only about 1 % of the all plastic that enters the ocean is floating at the surface, we look at subsurface processes that can cause vertical movement of (micro)plastic. We investigate how modelled algal attachment and the ocean's vertical movement can cause particles to sink and oscillate in the open ocean. Particles can sink to depths of > 5000 m in regions with high wind intensity and mainly remain close to the surface with low winds and biological activity.
Since current estimates show that only about 1 % of the all plastic that enters the ocean is...
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