Importance of the water-sediment bed interactions in simulating microplastic particles in an estuarine system
Retention of plastics in estuaries and storage in sediments likely contributes to the mass imbalance between the amount of ocean plastic debris and input from land. A sediment transport model, coupled with a hydrodynamic and wave model, was employed to analyze how microplastics of varying settling v...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-12-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1414459/full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1846140851477020672 |
|---|---|
| author | Emily Summers Emily Summers Jiabi Du Jiabi Du Kyeong Park Kyeong Park Marcus Wharton Marcus Wharton Karl Kaiser Karl Kaiser |
| author_facet | Emily Summers Emily Summers Jiabi Du Jiabi Du Kyeong Park Kyeong Park Marcus Wharton Marcus Wharton Karl Kaiser Karl Kaiser |
| author_sort | Emily Summers |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Retention of plastics in estuaries and storage in sediments likely contributes to the mass imbalance between the amount of ocean plastic debris and input from land. A sediment transport model, coupled with a hydrodynamic and wave model, was employed to analyze how microplastics of varying settling velocities behave under non-storm conditions and during extreme storm events in Galveston Bay, USA. The model was informed by measured concentrations of microplastics in a main tributary (Buffalo Bayou), which flows through the highly populated Houston-metro area. Under non-storm conditions, concentrations of neutrally buoyant particles are highest near the source location. In contrast, negatively buoyant particles are highest near the bay mouth where bed shear stress, and thus the potential for erosion/resuspension, is highest. Simulation of Hurricane Harvey, an unpreceded 1000-year flood event, shows a drastic increase of overall microplastic levels in Galveston Bay, approximately 5x that of non-storm conditions, and an increase in corresponding flux of microplastics to the Gulf of Mexico. The differences are attributed both to increases in microplastic loading and erosion of microplastics from bed sediments during Harvey. Differences in concentration between storm and non-storm conditions are most clear in the upper bay, where shear stress is low under normal conditions but shows a significant increase during storms due to wave-enhanced stress. Following Harvey, negatively buoyant particles levels return to normal in less than a week, but neutrally buoyant particle concentrations remain elevated over several months. Use of a sediment transport model that simulates erosion/resuspension to understand particle behavior lends further understanding of processes of microplastics not explored through previous use of particle tracking models that do not account for erosion/resuspension. This is of upmost importance for simulation of negatively buoyant particles, which have more potential to interact with the sediment bed layer. Variation of critical shear stress for erosion, erosion rate, and use of a wave model, all show significant impacts on particle behavior. Future parameterization of microplastic behavior in sediments will enhance our understanding of estuarine retention and export ability. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7a1c60a1a1744cc18ff41a945406b4f3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-7a1c60a1a1744cc18ff41a945406b4f32024-12-05T04:26:30ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452024-12-011110.3389/fmars.2024.14144591414459Importance of the water-sediment bed interactions in simulating microplastic particles in an estuarine systemEmily Summers0Emily Summers1Jiabi Du2Jiabi Du3Kyeong Park4Kyeong Park5Marcus Wharton6Marcus Wharton7Karl Kaiser8Karl Kaiser9Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United StatesDepartment of Marine and Coastal Environmental Science, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, TX, United StatesDepartment of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United StatesDepartment of Marine and Coastal Environmental Science, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, TX, United StatesDepartment of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United StatesDepartment of Marine and Coastal Environmental Science, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, TX, United StatesDepartment of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United StatesDepartment of Marine and Coastal Environmental Science, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, TX, United StatesDepartment of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United StatesDepartment of Marine and Coastal Environmental Science, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, TX, United StatesRetention of plastics in estuaries and storage in sediments likely contributes to the mass imbalance between the amount of ocean plastic debris and input from land. A sediment transport model, coupled with a hydrodynamic and wave model, was employed to analyze how microplastics of varying settling velocities behave under non-storm conditions and during extreme storm events in Galveston Bay, USA. The model was informed by measured concentrations of microplastics in a main tributary (Buffalo Bayou), which flows through the highly populated Houston-metro area. Under non-storm conditions, concentrations of neutrally buoyant particles are highest near the source location. In contrast, negatively buoyant particles are highest near the bay mouth where bed shear stress, and thus the potential for erosion/resuspension, is highest. Simulation of Hurricane Harvey, an unpreceded 1000-year flood event, shows a drastic increase of overall microplastic levels in Galveston Bay, approximately 5x that of non-storm conditions, and an increase in corresponding flux of microplastics to the Gulf of Mexico. The differences are attributed both to increases in microplastic loading and erosion of microplastics from bed sediments during Harvey. Differences in concentration between storm and non-storm conditions are most clear in the upper bay, where shear stress is low under normal conditions but shows a significant increase during storms due to wave-enhanced stress. Following Harvey, negatively buoyant particles levels return to normal in less than a week, but neutrally buoyant particle concentrations remain elevated over several months. Use of a sediment transport model that simulates erosion/resuspension to understand particle behavior lends further understanding of processes of microplastics not explored through previous use of particle tracking models that do not account for erosion/resuspension. This is of upmost importance for simulation of negatively buoyant particles, which have more potential to interact with the sediment bed layer. Variation of critical shear stress for erosion, erosion rate, and use of a wave model, all show significant impacts on particle behavior. Future parameterization of microplastic behavior in sediments will enhance our understanding of estuarine retention and export ability.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1414459/fullmicroplastic transport pathwaysestuarine export abilityhurricanessettling velocitysediment transport model |
| spellingShingle | Emily Summers Emily Summers Jiabi Du Jiabi Du Kyeong Park Kyeong Park Marcus Wharton Marcus Wharton Karl Kaiser Karl Kaiser Importance of the water-sediment bed interactions in simulating microplastic particles in an estuarine system Frontiers in Marine Science microplastic transport pathways estuarine export ability hurricanes settling velocity sediment transport model |
| title | Importance of the water-sediment bed interactions in simulating microplastic particles in an estuarine system |
| title_full | Importance of the water-sediment bed interactions in simulating microplastic particles in an estuarine system |
| title_fullStr | Importance of the water-sediment bed interactions in simulating microplastic particles in an estuarine system |
| title_full_unstemmed | Importance of the water-sediment bed interactions in simulating microplastic particles in an estuarine system |
| title_short | Importance of the water-sediment bed interactions in simulating microplastic particles in an estuarine system |
| title_sort | importance of the water sediment bed interactions in simulating microplastic particles in an estuarine system |
| topic | microplastic transport pathways estuarine export ability hurricanes settling velocity sediment transport model |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1414459/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT emilysummers importanceofthewatersedimentbedinteractionsinsimulatingmicroplasticparticlesinanestuarinesystem AT emilysummers importanceofthewatersedimentbedinteractionsinsimulatingmicroplasticparticlesinanestuarinesystem AT jiabidu importanceofthewatersedimentbedinteractionsinsimulatingmicroplasticparticlesinanestuarinesystem AT jiabidu importanceofthewatersedimentbedinteractionsinsimulatingmicroplasticparticlesinanestuarinesystem AT kyeongpark importanceofthewatersedimentbedinteractionsinsimulatingmicroplasticparticlesinanestuarinesystem AT kyeongpark importanceofthewatersedimentbedinteractionsinsimulatingmicroplasticparticlesinanestuarinesystem AT marcuswharton importanceofthewatersedimentbedinteractionsinsimulatingmicroplasticparticlesinanestuarinesystem AT marcuswharton importanceofthewatersedimentbedinteractionsinsimulatingmicroplasticparticlesinanestuarinesystem AT karlkaiser importanceofthewatersedimentbedinteractionsinsimulatingmicroplasticparticlesinanestuarinesystem AT karlkaiser importanceofthewatersedimentbedinteractionsinsimulatingmicroplasticparticlesinanestuarinesystem |