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SUMMARY:Transport and Settling of Buoyant Microplastics in Turbidity Curre
 nts - Professor Bruce Sutherland\, Uni of Alberta
DTSTART:20240201T113000Z
DTEND:20240201T123000Z
UID:TALK210751@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Catherine Pearson
DESCRIPTION:Although tens of millions of tons of plastic waste are release
 d into the ocean each year\, less than 300 kilotons remain on or near the 
 ocean surface.  This is particularly puzzling because more than half of pl
 astics that are produced are buoyant in sea water.   One mechanism that ca
 n result in buoyant plastic settling is the process of biofouling in which
  microbes and other organic material can accumulate on the plastics render
 ing them more dense.   Less studied is the accumulation of inorganic mater
 ial on the plastics.  For example\, clay has recently been shown to attach
  to plastics\, particularly in the presence of surfactants.   Here we repo
 rt on laboratory experiments showing that plastic particles which are less
  dense than fresh water can settle due to the accumulation of glass sphere
 s ("sand") on their surface.  This process is shown to occur dynamically a
 s sand and plastic particles mix turbulently during the impulsive release 
 of a turbidity current\, which can carry some of the plastic particles to 
 depth along with the settling sand.  [This work reports on experiments per
 formed by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) Geophysical Fluid Dyna
 mics (GFD) Fellow Quentin Kriaa during the WHOI GFD Summer Program 2023\, 
 co-supervised by Claudia Cenedese and Jim McElwaine.]
LOCATION:Open Plan Area\, Institute for Energy and Environmental Flows\, M
 adingley Rise CB3 0EZ
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