Numerical Modelling of Microplastics Transport in Mersin Bay

Date

2023-5-15

Author

Balas, Egemen Ander

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This study aimed to investigate the transport of microplastics in coastal waters and comprehensive numerical modeling approaches were used. A coastal area of approximately 900 km2 in the Bay of Mersin on the eastern Mediterranean coast of Türkiye was chosen as the study area, characterized by its irregular bathymetry, topography, variable winds, waves, and coastal currents. The HYDROTAM-3D numerical coastal model and database were used to investigate the study area's wind, wave, and current climate. Coastal hydrodynamics were studied in detail using the numerical model ECOMSED, which successfully simulates turbulent coastal currents caused by wind, waves, river flow, and density changes. A detailed analysis of hydrodynamics is of great importance for modeling microplastic transport. The coastal transport processes of microplastics that may enter the waters of Mersin Bay via the Müftü and Deliçay rivers were numerically investigated using ECOMSED. The microplastic species and potential loading rates used in the modeling studies were selected from the measurement studies conducted in Mersin Bay in the literature. Different scenarios were modeled to understand the effects of wind speed and direction, coastal currents, salinity and temperature changes of sea and river water, river flow rate, microplastic density, and loading type on transport processes. The modeling studies used both the advection-diffusion and particle-tracking methods, which are two different transport submodules of the ECOMSED model. These scenarios showed that the continuous flow of microplastics from rivers can lead to microplastic accumulation, especially in the western coastal waters of the study area. Overall, this study demonstrated that it is necessary and essential to conduct comprehensive numerical modeling of hydrodynamics and transport to study the movement of microplastics in coastal areas and to understand the abundance zones. This study pioneers the understanding of microplastic movements in Mersin Bay through numerical modeling and provides an essential resource and awareness for management and policy decisions to reduce microplastic pollution in coastal areas.

Subject Keywords

Advection, Diffusion, ECOMSED, HYDROTAM-3D, Mersin Bay, Microplastics, Numerical Modeling, Particle Tracking, Transport, Türkiye

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/103818

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis