Macro-plastics simulations

Macro-plastics are plastics larger than 5 mm. This pollution is released into the sea from land-based sources through rivers and throughout the coastline. Plastics are generally buoyant (lighter than sea-water) but can eventually sink due to bio-fouling.
In this application, the trajectory of plastics is computed using 3D currents, Stokes drift, leeway (for semi-immersed plastics), buoyancy, and beaching. Beached plastics are frozen, i.e. they cannot be return to the sea.

Macro-plastics during June 2024. Blue dots represent active particles; red dots represent particles on the beach or on he sea floor. Rezultats are presented on the regional grid, but take computations in the local grids into account.