Three-Dimensional Hydrodynamic and Microplastic Transport Model for Lentic Systems

Numerical modeling is an efficient tool for quantifying transport and sedimentation patterns of microplastic (MP) particles in lentic systems. To evaluate these patterns based on a specific research area we set up a three-dimensional hydrodynamic and transport model for a reservoir in Germany.

We partition the computational domain with an unstructured mesh to optimally capture the geometry of the reservoir and to adapt the mesh resolution. Thereby, shallow areas and those with steep bathymetry gradients are represented at a particularly high resolution. In vertical direction, we use a combination of z- and sigma-layers. To quantify the effects of the grid on the model results, we perform a sensitivity analysis for different horizontal and vertical mesh resolutions.

For the hydrodynamic simulations we use the Delft3D Flexible Mesh Suite (Delft3D FM). We calibrate and validate the hydrodynamic model utilizing monthly measured vertical temperature profiles for two different years. For simulating the MP transport, we rely on the sediments and morphology module of Delft3D FM. This module is based on a Eulerian approach which allows us to efficiently simulate large concentrations of MP particles.