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

[1] 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.

[1]  Richard C. Thompson,et al.  Transport and release of chemicals from plastics to the environment and to wildlife , 2009, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

[2]  D. W. Laist,et al.  Overview of the biological effects of lost and discarded plastic debris in the marine environment , 1987 .

[3]  D. Farmer,et al.  Bubble Clouds and Langmuir Circulation: Observations and Models , 2003 .

[4]  Walter H. F. Smith,et al.  New, improved version of generic mapping tools released , 1998 .

[5]  J B Colton,et al.  Plastic particles in surface waters of the northwestern atlantic. , 1974, Science.

[6]  A. Guha.  Transport and Deposition of Particles in Turbulent and Laminar Flow , 2008 .

[7]  K. Hyrenbach,et al.  Habitat associations of floating debris and marine birds in the North East Pacific Ocean at coarse and meso spatial scales. , 2011, Marine pollution bulletin.

[8]  E. Carpenter,et al.  Plastics on the Sargasso Sea Surface , 1972, Science.

[9]  T Kaminuma,et al.  Plastic resin pellets as a transport medium for toxic chemicals in the marine environment. , 2001, Environmental science & technology.

[10]  E. Skyllingstad,et al.  Nonlocal fluxes and Stokes drift effects in the K-profile parameterization , 2002 .

[11]  E. Ivanova,et al.  Poly(ethylene terephthalate) polymer surfaces as a substrate for bacterial attachment and biofilm formation. , 2009, Microbes and environments.

[12]  D. Shaw,et al.  Patterns in the abundance of pelagic plastic and tar in the north pacific ocean, 1976–1985 , 1987 .

[13]  James C. McWilliams,et al.  Vertical Mixing by Langmuir Circulations , 2000 .

[14]  Richard C. Thompson,et al.  Lost at Sea: Where Is All the Plastic? , 2004, Science.

[15]  Emily E. Peacock,et al.  Plastic Accumulation in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre , 2010, Science.

[16]  D. R. Green,et al.  Quantitative Tar and Plastic Waste Distributions in the Pacific Ocean , 1974, Nature.

[17]  P. Leblond,et al.  Dynamics and modelling of ocean waves , 1995 .

[18]  Jerome A. Smith.  Observed growth of Langmuir circulation , 1992 .

[19]  Anthony L Andrady,et al.  Microplastics in the marine environment. , 2011, Marine pollution bulletin.

[20]  W. K. Melville,et al.  The Role of Surface-Wave Breaking in Air-Sea Interaction , 1996 .

[21]  Richard C. Thompson,et al.  Potential for plastics to transport hydrophobic contaminants. , 2007, Environmental science & technology.

[22]  Ming Li,et al.  Role of Langmuir Circulation in the Deepening of the Ocean Surface Mixed Layer , 1995, Science.

[23]  D. Barnes,et al.  Drifting plastic and its consequences for sessile organism dispersal in the Atlantic Ocean , 2005 .

[24]  W. Large,et al.  Open Ocean Momentum Flux Measurements in Moderate to Strong Winds , 1981 .

[25]  E. Skyllingstad.  The Effects of Langmuir Circulation on Buoyant Particles , 2003 .

[26]  K..  THE ROLE OF SURFACE-WAVE BREAKING IN AIR-SEA INTERACTION , 2007 .

[27]  E. D’Asaro.  Simple Suggestions for Including Vertical Physics in Oil Spill Models , 2000 .

[28]  Daniele Iudicone,et al.  Mixed layer depth over the global ocean: An examination of profile data and a profile-based climatology , 2004 .

[29]  L. Kantha,et al.  On the effect of surface gravity waves on mixing in the oceanic mixed layer , 2004 .

[30]  P. Sullivan,et al.  Significance of Langmuir circulation in upper ocean mixing: Comparison of observations and simulations , 2009 .

[31]  G. T. Csanady,et al.  Air-Sea Interaction , 2001 .

[32]  W. Large,et al.  Oceanic vertical mixing: a review and a model with a nonlocal boundary layer parameterization , 1994 .

[33]  Richard C. Thompson,et al.  Accumulation and fragmentation of plastic debris in global environments , 2009, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

[34]  Peter Davison,et al.  Plastic ingestion by mesopelagic fishes in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre , 2011 .

[35]  M. Doble,et al.  Marine microbe-mediated biodegradation of low- and high-density polyethylenes , 2008 .

[36]  Emily E. Peacock,et al.  The size, mass, and composition of plastic debris in the western North Atlantic Ocean. , 2010, Marine pollution bulletin.

[37]  D. Chambers,et al.  Mean Dynamic Topography of the Ocean Derived from Satellite and Drifting Buoy Data Using Three Different Techniques , 2009 .