University of Ottawa

Purpose

A great global concern is the ubiquitous presence of small plastics due to high rate of their production and rapid industrial growth. Despite the fact that most types of plastics are lighter than water, significant portion of them are found in bed sediments. Thus, it is indispensable to understand mechanisms influencing deposition of lower density plastic materials in bed sediments. This project endeavours to bridge the gap in understanding micro-size plastic debris deposition to bed sediments in riverine and coastal environments. In this respect, a novel and verified numerical model along with a set of laboratory experiments will be employed to assess the behavior of microplastics considering different ambient scenarios and bed materials. The proposed numerical model can simulate physical processes such as beaching, burial, remobilization, and deposition in aquatic environments with complex hydrodynamics influenced by turbulence. As a result, understanding microplastics behavior using the validated model to parameterize the aforementioned processes for a regional scale particle tracking model, enables scientists and engineers to assess ecological impacts and address the national and global concern of plastic generation and disposal in water bodies.