Oceanic Litter Conditions and Performance Evaluation of Marine Cleanups

A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Pollution".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 April 2024) | Viewed by 6093

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
IRD/Laboratory for Ocean Physics and Satellite Remote Sensing (LOPS), 29280 Plouzane, France
Interests: physical oceanography; marine dispersion; ocean litter and debris; citizen science

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
The Ocean Cleanup, 3014 JH Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Interests: marine litter; oceanography; ocean engineering; computational fluid dynamics; data science; deep learning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The world's oceans and coastlines are constantly impacted by several threats related to the dispersal of pollutants (plastics, hydrocarbons, fertilizers), and algae blooms. Knowledge of global ocean modeling and dispersion has greatly increased in recent decades but remains inadequate for the development of regional and local responses. Accordingly, marine cleanups are increasingly being developed and conducted in response to these threats.

The invited Special Issue focuses on the performance evaluation of marine cleanups. This encompasses the cleanup systems' overall hydrodynamic and cleanup performance, as well as the measurement techniques, modeling, and operations used to support the research and development in order to improve overall performance and to better understand marine environmental conditions, dynamics, and their influence on the dispersal of floating materials in our environment.

Submissions are welcome from various fields of study:

  • Modeling of the fate of pollutants and algae;
  • Dynamics of marine dispersion;
  • Forecasting and steering strategy;
  • Cleanup system design;
  • Cleanup boat, boom, and nets hydrodynamics;
  • Model testing of cleanup systems;
  • Digital twin of cleanup systems;
  • Operational cleanup systems;
  • Remote sensing (marine litter, oil, algae);
  • Surface drifters and AUVs;
  • Oil spill response.

Dr. Christophe Maes
Dr. Bruno Sainte-Rose
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • marine litter
  • marine cleanups
  • remote sensing
  • hydrodynamic performance
  • oil spill response
  • dispersal modeling
  • algae blooms

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 9857 KiB  
Article
Seasonality of Marine Litter Hotspots in the Wider Caribbean Region
by Xiaobiao Xu, Eric P. Chassignet, Philippe Miron and Olmo Zavala-Romero
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2024, 12(2), 319; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse12020319 - 13 Feb 2024
Viewed by 870
Abstract
The persistent increase in marine plastic litter has become a major global concern, with one of the highest plastic concentrations in the world’s oceans found in the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR). In this study, we use marine plastic litter tracking simulations to investigate [...] Read more.
The persistent increase in marine plastic litter has become a major global concern, with one of the highest plastic concentrations in the world’s oceans found in the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR). In this study, we use marine plastic litter tracking simulations to investigate where marine plastic accumulates, i.e., hotspots, in the WCR and how the accumulation varies on seasonal timescales. We show that most of the marine plastic waste converges on the coastlines shortly after being released into the WCR because of the strong surface current and the predominant easterly winds. Major plastic accumulations take place along (i) the western coastline of the WCR, especially the north–south-oriented coasts of Costa Rica/Nicaragua, Guatemala/Belize/Mexico, and Texas, and (ii) the coastlines of Haiti–Dominican Republic and Venezuela. Relatively low plastic accumulation is found along western Florida, the western Yucatán peninsula, and the leeward and windward Caribbean islands. Accumulation along the western WCR coastlines is modulated primarily by ocean currents and exhibits significant seasonal variabilities due to changes in wind patterns. The accumulation observed on the Haiti–Dominican Republic and Venezuela coastlines is primarily due to the proximity of large, mismanaged plastic waste sources. Finally, we discuss the uncertainty associated with the choices made in defining the different criteria for plastic beaching in the models. Full article
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18 pages, 3682 KiB  
Article
Qualitative Study of the Transport of Microplastics in the Río de la Plata Estuary, Argentina, through Numerical Simulation
by Alejandra Elisei Schicchi, Diego Moreira, Patricia Eisenberg and Claudia G. Simionato
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2023, 11(12), 2317; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11122317 - 07 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1300
Abstract
Information about the sources, sinks, dynamics, and how environmental variables affect the transport of microplastics (MPs) from continental deposits to marine systems is still limited. Most of the knowledge about the distribution of plastic in the oceans comes from the use of numerical [...] Read more.
Information about the sources, sinks, dynamics, and how environmental variables affect the transport of microplastics (MPs) from continental deposits to marine systems is still limited. Most of the knowledge about the distribution of plastic in the oceans comes from the use of numerical models to understand the routes of MPs moving in aquatic systems. The Río de la Plata (RdP) is an estuary located on the eastern coast of South America and is one of the most anthropized watercourses in the region. In this study, the trajectory of MPs in the RdP was examined through the implementation, for the first time for the region, of numerical simulation models. The impact of the estuary’s hydrodynamic characteristics, winds, and MP morphological properties on their trajectory was investigated. The simulations produced demonstrated a high correlation between the hydrodynamics of the Río de la Plata and the trajectory of positively buoyant MPs. The wind was identified as a significant driving force in the simulation of MP motion dynamics. Modifications in the size of the MPs have more influence on the trajectory than their morphology. The results constitute an initial step toward understanding the dynamics of these emerging pollutants in one of South America’s most important basins. Full article
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33 pages, 6756 KiB  
Article
On the Digital Twin of The Ocean Cleanup Systems—Part I: Calibration of the Drag Coefficients of a Netted Screen in OrcaFlex Using CFD and Full-Scale Experiments
by Martin Alejandro Gonzalez Jimenez, Andriarimina Daniel Rakotonirina, Bruno Sainte-Rose and David James Cox
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2023, 11(10), 1943; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11101943 - 08 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1384
Abstract
The Ocean Cleanup introduces a Digital Twin (DT) describing the cleanup systems made of netting to extract marine litter from our oceans. It consists of two wings forming a “U-shape” and a retention zone. During operation, the system is towed and drag-driven with [...] Read more.
The Ocean Cleanup introduces a Digital Twin (DT) describing the cleanup systems made of netting to extract marine litter from our oceans. It consists of two wings forming a “U-shape” and a retention zone. During operation, the system is towed and drag-driven with a span-to-length ratio of 0.6 SR* 0.8. The twine Reynolds number is Ret*[800:1600], making it experience various local drag coefficients. The DT was built with OrcaFlex (OF) aiming at: (i) avoiding over- or under-designing the system; (ii) supporting the scale-up of the system; and (iii) estimating the costs and/or the impact of our offshore operations. Therefore, we present an attempt to build an accurate DT using data from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP). We developed a three-cycle validation: (i) initial guess applying Naumov’s semi-empirical drag coefficient to define the OF drag coefficients without the influence of the angles of attack θ of the wings; (ii) adjustment of the OF drag coefficients using AquaSim (AS) with its twine-by-twine drag correlation for various θ; (iii) re-adjustment of the OF drag coefficients from two-dimensional CFD simulations using Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) for a twine-by-twine establishment of a drag correlation on a 1 m plane net, highlighting the shielding effects for θ<24°. Consequently, an initial underestimation of −3% in the combined towline tension, for a nominal span (SR*=0.6), was corrected to a slight overestimation of +7% compared to the GPGP data. For a wide span (SR*=0.8), the deviation remained between +1% and +15% throughout the validation process. For a narrow span (SR* 0.02), mostly exhibiting low θ, the first cycle showed a +276% deviation, whereas at the end of the third cycle, it showed a +43% deviation. Full article
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