Modeling the transport and residence time of microplastic particles in lakes and reservoirs

Microplastic (MP) particles are assumed to be potentially harmful to organisms in the hydrosphere. To better assess the exposure and the associated risk it is essential to quantify the transport and sedimentation behavior of MP particles in aquatic environments.

Using the Delft3D Flexible Mesh Suite we set up a three-dimensional hydrodynamic and MP transport model for lakes and reservoirs. Our focus is on modeling polymers with different densities and particle sizes to identify patterns of particle residence time and sedimentation. The reservoir Großer Brombachsee in Germany serves as the research site with realistic forcings and boundary conditions.

We present first results for horizontal and vertical distribution patterns for different polymer types. We found that the distribution of MP in the computational domain is strongly affected by both particle density and particle size. Smaller, lighter particles are spread over the entire horizontal extent of the reservoir, but particles of higher density or of larger size settle within a limited area around the inflow location, indicating a much higher settling velocity.