Modelling the surface transport and spatio-temporal extent of microplastic pollution in the Southern Ocean and Antarctic waters
The Southern Ocean has long been considered a pristine marine environment, protected from pollutants such as microplastics by its remote location and limited human presence (Waller et al., 2017). However, microplastics are now a ubiquitous marine pollutant and research has highlighted the transport...
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University of Exeter
2024
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ftunivexeter:oai:ore.exeter.ac.uk:10871/136046 2024-06-23T07:46:45+00:00 Modelling the surface transport and spatio-temporal extent of microplastic pollution in the Southern Ocean and Antarctic waters Wilson, D Sheen, Katy Thorpe, Sally Young, Emma Clark, James Shutler, Jamie 2024 http://hdl.handle.net/10871/136046 unknown University of Exeter Center for Geography and Environmental Science http://hdl.handle.net/10871/136046 2025-11-26 Under embargo until 26/11/25. I am currently in the process of writing up the scientific journal papers associated with this thesis and would like the papers to be published before this thesis becomes publicly available. http://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved Antarctic Circumpolar Current Computer model Lagrangian particle tracking Microplastic OceanParcels ORCHESTRA Southern Ocean Stokes drift Thesis or dissertation Doctor of Philosophy in Geography Doctoral Doctoral Thesis 2024 ftunivexeter 2024-06-04T23:49:40Z The Southern Ocean has long been considered a pristine marine environment, protected from pollutants such as microplastics by its remote location and limited human presence (Waller et al., 2017). However, microplastics are now a ubiquitous marine pollutant and research has highlighted the transport to, and presence of, surface-floating microplastics in the Southern Ocean. Yet large gaps exist in our knowledge of the transport pathways and accumulation zones of floating microplastic in the region. To increase understanding of the surface transport of floating microplastics in the Southern Ocean, this thesis used the OceanParcels Lagrangian ocean analysis framework, forced with 1/12° resolution velocity fields from the Ocean Regulation of Climate by Heat and Carbon Sequestration and Transport project ocean-sea ice model. Assessment of the model set up that compared modelled and observed drifter trajectories revealed a generally good level of agreement, allowing confidence in the suitability of the model to identify and characterise transport pathways of floating microplastics in the Southern Ocean. Simulations of virtual microplastic transport across the Antarctic Circumpolar Current have highlighted the key role that Stokes drift plays in the southward transport of floating microplastics. The results also suggest that southward transport of floating microplastics is likely to occur in locations, such as Drake Passage, where the northern and southern boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current are steered topographically northwards. Simulated trajectories of floating microplastics released from five coastal Antarctic research stations revealed that sea ice transport can have a large impact on the pathway of floating microplastics, for example by facilitating northward transport from coastal areas into the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. The spatial and temporal impact of sea ice transport was not uniform, however, highlighting the need to consider the localised oceanographic and sea ice conditions in conjunction ... Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis Antarc* Antarctic Drake Passage Sea ice Southern Ocean University of Exeter: Open Research Exeter (ORE) Antarctic Drake Passage Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
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University of Exeter: Open Research Exeter (ORE) |
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ftunivexeter |
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unknown |
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Antarctic Circumpolar Current Computer model Lagrangian particle tracking Microplastic OceanParcels ORCHESTRA Southern Ocean Stokes drift |
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Antarctic Circumpolar Current Computer model Lagrangian particle tracking Microplastic OceanParcels ORCHESTRA Southern Ocean Stokes drift Wilson, D Modelling the surface transport and spatio-temporal extent of microplastic pollution in the Southern Ocean and Antarctic waters |
topic_facet |
Antarctic Circumpolar Current Computer model Lagrangian particle tracking Microplastic OceanParcels ORCHESTRA Southern Ocean Stokes drift |
description |
The Southern Ocean has long been considered a pristine marine environment, protected from pollutants such as microplastics by its remote location and limited human presence (Waller et al., 2017). However, microplastics are now a ubiquitous marine pollutant and research has highlighted the transport to, and presence of, surface-floating microplastics in the Southern Ocean. Yet large gaps exist in our knowledge of the transport pathways and accumulation zones of floating microplastic in the region. To increase understanding of the surface transport of floating microplastics in the Southern Ocean, this thesis used the OceanParcels Lagrangian ocean analysis framework, forced with 1/12° resolution velocity fields from the Ocean Regulation of Climate by Heat and Carbon Sequestration and Transport project ocean-sea ice model. Assessment of the model set up that compared modelled and observed drifter trajectories revealed a generally good level of agreement, allowing confidence in the suitability of the model to identify and characterise transport pathways of floating microplastics in the Southern Ocean. Simulations of virtual microplastic transport across the Antarctic Circumpolar Current have highlighted the key role that Stokes drift plays in the southward transport of floating microplastics. The results also suggest that southward transport of floating microplastics is likely to occur in locations, such as Drake Passage, where the northern and southern boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current are steered topographically northwards. Simulated trajectories of floating microplastics released from five coastal Antarctic research stations revealed that sea ice transport can have a large impact on the pathway of floating microplastics, for example by facilitating northward transport from coastal areas into the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. The spatial and temporal impact of sea ice transport was not uniform, however, highlighting the need to consider the localised oceanographic and sea ice conditions in conjunction ... |
author2 |
Sheen, Katy Thorpe, Sally Young, Emma Clark, James Shutler, Jamie |
format |
Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
author |
Wilson, D |
author_facet |
Wilson, D |
author_sort |
Wilson, D |
title |
Modelling the surface transport and spatio-temporal extent of microplastic pollution in the Southern Ocean and Antarctic waters |
title_short |
Modelling the surface transport and spatio-temporal extent of microplastic pollution in the Southern Ocean and Antarctic waters |
title_full |
Modelling the surface transport and spatio-temporal extent of microplastic pollution in the Southern Ocean and Antarctic waters |
title_fullStr |
Modelling the surface transport and spatio-temporal extent of microplastic pollution in the Southern Ocean and Antarctic waters |
title_full_unstemmed |
Modelling the surface transport and spatio-temporal extent of microplastic pollution in the Southern Ocean and Antarctic waters |
title_sort |
modelling the surface transport and spatio-temporal extent of microplastic pollution in the southern ocean and antarctic waters |
publisher |
University of Exeter |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10871/136046 |
geographic |
Antarctic Drake Passage Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Drake Passage Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Drake Passage Sea ice Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Drake Passage Sea ice Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10871/136046 |
op_rights |
2025-11-26 Under embargo until 26/11/25. I am currently in the process of writing up the scientific journal papers associated with this thesis and would like the papers to be published before this thesis becomes publicly available. http://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved |
_version_ |
1802647947110776832 |