Marine plastic litter has been a major concern over the past decade particularly in semi-enclosed seas such as the Arabian/Persian Gulf, which are likely to impose a relatively higher threat to ecosystem and human health. In this work, we have focused our efforts on the transport features of marine surface microplastics (MPs) in the Gulf. The assessment utilizes a 3D hydrodynamic model of the northern Gulf which was coupled with a particle tracking model. We have considered five release locations and investigated two dominant wind conditions by applying different numerical scenarios. The results revealed that the northerly winds result in high dispersion and seaward transport of MPs in the open coastal zones, while in semi-enclosed regions they result in high trapping and beaching verified by visual investigation. The study shows that further detailed field investigations are warranted to enable the models to better parameterize the fate and distributions of MPs.

在过去的十年中，海洋塑料垃圾一直是主要关注的问题，特别是在阿拉伯/波斯湾等半封闭海域，这可能对生态系统和人类健康构成相对较高的威胁。在这项工作中，我们将工作重点放在了海湾地区海洋表面微塑料（MPs）的运输特性上。该评估利用了北部海湾的3D水动力模型，并结合了粒子跟踪模型。我们考虑了五个释放位置，并通过应用不同的数值方案研究了两个主导风况。结果表明，偏北风在沿海开放带导致MP的高度散布和向海运输，而在半封闭区域，通过目视调查证实它们导致了高的圈闭和海滩化。