The effect of wind mixing on the vertical distribution of buoyant plastic debris

被引:511
作者
Kukulka, T. [1 ]
Proskurowski, G. [2 ,3 ]
Moret-Ferguson, S. [2 ]
Meyer, D. W. [2 ,4 ]
Law, K. L. [2 ]
机构
[1] Univ Delaware, Coll Earth Ocean & Environm, Sch Marine Sci & Policy, Newark, DE 19716 USA
[2] Sea Educ Assoc, Woods Hole, MA 02543 USA
[3] Univ Washington, Sch Oceanog, Seattle, WA 98195 USA
[4] Eckerd Coll, Marine Sci Dept, St Petersburg, FL 33711 USA
关键词
LANGMUIR CIRCULATION; PACIFIC-OCEAN; TRANSPORT; SEA; ACCUMULATION; PARTICLES; CHEMICALS; LOST; TAR;
D O I
10.1029/2012GL051116
中图分类号
P [天文学、地球科学];
学科分类号
07 ;
摘要
Micro-plastic marine debris is widely distributed in vast regions of the subtropical gyres and has emerged as a major open ocean pollutant. The fate and transport of plastic marine debris is governed by poorly understood geophysical processes, such as ocean mixing within the surface boundary layer. Based on profile observations and a one-dimensional column model, we demonstrate that plastic debris is vertically distributed within the upper water column due to wind-driven mixing. These results suggest that total oceanic plastics concentrations are significantly underestimated by traditional surface measurements, requiring a reinterpretation of existing plastic marine debris data sets. A geophysical approach must be taken in order to properly quantify and manage this form of marine pollution. Citation: Kukulka, T., G. Proskurowski, S. Moret-Ferguson, D. W. Meyer, and K. L. Law (2012), The effect of wind mixing on the vertical distribution of buoyant plastic debris, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L07601, doi: 10.1029/2012GL051116.
引用
收藏
页数:6
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