The key mechanisms for plastic transport are currents, wind, and waves. Currents and wind transport ocean debris in a straightforward manner like the forces on a sailing boat. A joint team from the Universities of Oxford, Plymouth, Edinburgh, Auckland and TU Delft have investigated how waves transport floating ocean debris while including, for the first time, the effects of an object’s size, buoyancy, and inertia on its transport. We expected inertia to reduce the speed at which floating debris was transported in waves, analogous to wind and currents. Further study into the effect of object shape, including wave-flume and numerical testing of idealised and real ocean debris, are underway.
