The effect of wind mixing on the vertical distribution of buoyant plastic debris
The effect of wind mixing on the vertical distribution of buoyant plastic debris
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DOI：
10.1029/2012gl051116
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发表时间：
2012-04-03
影响因子：
5.2
通讯作者：
Law, K. L.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Kukulka, T.;Proskurowski, G.;Law, K. L.
微塑料海洋废弃物广泛分布在亚热带环流的广大区域，已成为主要的公海污染物。海洋塑料废弃物的归宿和迁移受人们知之甚少的地球物理过程的支配，例如表面边界层内的海洋混合。剖面观测和一维柱模型的基础上，我们表明，塑料碎片垂直分布在上层水柱由于风驱动的混合。这些结果表明，传统的表面测量大大低估了海洋塑料总浓度，需要重新解释现有的塑料海洋废弃物数据集。必须采取地球物理方法，以适当量化和管理这种形式的海洋污染。引文：Kukulka，T.，G. Proskurowski，S. Moret-Ferguson，D. W. Meyer和K. L. Law（2012年），《风混合对漂浮塑料碎片垂直分布的影响》，Geophys.保留信函：39，L07601，doi：10.1029/2012GL051116。
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.