RT journal article
T1 Model Prediction of Macroplastic Distributions in European Marine Basins: Comparison with Beach and Floating Macroplastic Observations and Estimation of Model Accuracy
A1 Garcia-Gorriz, E.
A1 Macías Moy, Diego
A1 González Fernández, Daniel
A1 Arcangeli, A.
A1 Ferreira-Cordeiro, N.
A1 Duteil, O.
A1 Miladinova, S.
A1 Pärn, O.
A1 Ruiz-Orejón, L.F.
A1 Pasanisi, E.
A1 Crosti, R.
A1 David, L.
A2 Biología
K1 beached macroplastics
K1 CleanAtlantic project
K1 EMBLAS project
K1 EMODnet dataset
K1 floating macroplastics
K1 Lagrangian modelling
K1 LTRANS-Zlev model
K1 marine litter
K1 MEDSEALITTER project
AB Accumulation of plastic litter in the marine environment is a pressing global concern. To study this issue, we use the Blue2 Modelling Framework (Blue2MF), an integrated modelling tool developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. Our study uses the Lagrangian model LTRANS-Zlev (LTRANS) in the Blue2MF to simulate the trajectories, distribution, and accumulation of macroplastics in five European marine basins: the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Northwest European Shelf, and Atlantic Southwest European Shelf. By incorporating model-estimated macroplastic inputs from land and estimations of maritime (fishing) sources, we simulate distribution patterns of marine macroplastics between 2016 and 2018. Our study addresses the challenges involved in modelling the spatial distribution and abundances of macroplastics with the LTRANS model and the factors that may condition the estimation of the model accuracy when model results are compared/validated with marine litter observations available. We compare our model results with available observations, achieving a good agreement between predicted and observed macroplastic distributions and abundances and estimating the model accuracy for both beached and floating macroplastics. Our study provides a basis for future forecast runs to evaluate the impact of policy/management options on marine macroplastic pollution in European Seas.
PB Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
SN 2673-1924
YR 2026
FD 2026
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/40572
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/40572
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 08-nov-2026