École Nationale Supérieure de
Techniques Avancées

Abstract

This study aims to model the effects of turbulence on biofouling of microplastic. Microplastics are fragments of plastic smaller than 5mm [2] which come from larger plastic debris in the ocean and pollute the marine environment. In this study, we will focus on their vertical motion in a water column in the North Pacific ocean. Firstly, we will study the biofouling model and reproduce the results from Kooi model[7]. We will then include turbulent effects on vertical position to the biofouling model by adding a turbulent velocity based on Langevin equation [8] and a model of dissipation of the energy. We will compare the results of the model including turbulence and the biofouling model with LDPE plastic particles of radius from 1mm to 1*10^-6 m.