Several members of the PLASTINEST team have participated in the EGU 2024 Conference in Vienna this year.
PhD student Betty John shared her ongoing research on the numerical modeling of microplastic transport in the macrotidal Gironde estuary (SW France) during the session « Small-scale transport processes of plastics in the aquatic environment ». In her work, Betty implemented a hydrodynamic and improved particle tracking model to explore the relative importance of various transport processes, providing valuable insights into microplastic dispersion and potential trapping (see abstract here). Additionally, Betty had the pleasure of visiting the BOKU River lab and engaging with the microplastic research community over a BBQ.
Furthermore, our laboratory experiments on microplastic erodability in muddy environments were presented virtually within the same session by Isabel Jalón-Rojas (see abstract here). It was noteworthy that microplastic erodability emerged as a hot topic during this session, with several novel contributions, highlighting the significance of our current research efforts. Both presentations received very positive feedback and sparked engaging exchanges with the audience, further advancing our understanding of microplastic dynamics.
