Measurement of Near-Surface Current Shear Using a Lagrangian Platform and Its Implication on Microplastic Dispersion
Air–sea interactions within the ocean’s near-surface layer play a pivotal role in climate regulation and are essential for understanding the dispersion of marine pollutants such as microplastics and oil slicks. Despite its significance, high-resolution data exploring the physical dynamics near the a...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/11/9/1716 |
| _version_ | 1827725770499293184 |
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| author | Jun-Ho Lee Jun Myoung Choi |
| author_facet | Jun-Ho Lee Jun Myoung Choi |
| author_sort | Jun-Ho Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Air–sea interactions within the ocean’s near-surface layer play a pivotal role in climate regulation and are essential for understanding the dispersion of marine pollutants such as microplastics and oil slicks. Despite its significance, high-resolution data exploring the physical dynamics near the air–sea interface are noticeably sparse. To address this, we introduced a novel Lagrangian observational platform, outfitted with an upward-facing high-resolution ADCP, designed to measure current shear within the top 2 m of the surface water. Through two short field experiments, we identified enhanced currents and shear in the near-surface layer, and observed a negative vertical momentum flux aligned with the wind direction and a positive one orthogonal to it. The measurement suggest that Stokes drift contributes to 10% of horizontal mass transport and 20% of shear in the top surface layer, with the direct and local wind-driven current being the predominant influence. To accurately model the physical behavior of buoyant microplastics, this observation underscores the necessity of parameterizations that account for both the Stokes drift and the direct, local wind-driven current, a factor that is often overlooked in many models. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:35:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-66271fe4e02748ebbd2f3baf473f4f9f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1312 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:35:09Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-66271fe4e02748ebbd2f3baf473f4f9f2023-11-19T11:26:26ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122023-08-01119171610.3390/jmse11091716Measurement of Near-Surface Current Shear Using a Lagrangian Platform and Its Implication on Microplastic DispersionJun-Ho Lee0Jun Myoung Choi1Research Vessel Nara, Pukyong National University, Busan 608-737, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Ocean Engineering, College of Environmental and Marine Sciences and Technology, Pukyong National University, Busan 608-737, Republic of KoreaAir–sea interactions within the ocean’s near-surface layer play a pivotal role in climate regulation and are essential for understanding the dispersion of marine pollutants such as microplastics and oil slicks. Despite its significance, high-resolution data exploring the physical dynamics near the air–sea interface are noticeably sparse. To address this, we introduced a novel Lagrangian observational platform, outfitted with an upward-facing high-resolution ADCP, designed to measure current shear within the top 2 m of the surface water. Through two short field experiments, we identified enhanced currents and shear in the near-surface layer, and observed a negative vertical momentum flux aligned with the wind direction and a positive one orthogonal to it. The measurement suggest that Stokes drift contributes to 10% of horizontal mass transport and 20% of shear in the top surface layer, with the direct and local wind-driven current being the predominant influence. To accurately model the physical behavior of buoyant microplastics, this observation underscores the necessity of parameterizations that account for both the Stokes drift and the direct, local wind-driven current, a factor that is often overlooked in many models.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/11/9/1716Lagrangian observational platformsurface currentADCPwind-driven currentStokes driftmomentum flux |
| spellingShingle | Jun-Ho Lee Jun Myoung Choi Measurement of Near-Surface Current Shear Using a Lagrangian Platform and Its Implication on Microplastic Dispersion Journal of Marine Science and Engineering Lagrangian observational platform surface current ADCP wind-driven current Stokes drift momentum flux |
| title | Measurement of Near-Surface Current Shear Using a Lagrangian Platform and Its Implication on Microplastic Dispersion |
| title_full | Measurement of Near-Surface Current Shear Using a Lagrangian Platform and Its Implication on Microplastic Dispersion |
| title_fullStr | Measurement of Near-Surface Current Shear Using a Lagrangian Platform and Its Implication on Microplastic Dispersion |
| title_full_unstemmed | Measurement of Near-Surface Current Shear Using a Lagrangian Platform and Its Implication on Microplastic Dispersion |
| title_short | Measurement of Near-Surface Current Shear Using a Lagrangian Platform and Its Implication on Microplastic Dispersion |
| title_sort | measurement of near surface current shear using a lagrangian platform and its implication on microplastic dispersion |
| topic | Lagrangian observational platform surface current ADCP wind-driven current Stokes drift momentum flux |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/11/9/1716 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT junholee measurementofnearsurfacecurrentshearusingalagrangianplatformanditsimplicationonmicroplasticdispersion AT junmyoungchoi measurementofnearsurfacecurrentshearusingalagrangianplatformanditsimplicationonmicroplasticdispersion |