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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Pollution
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2024.1494809

Simulating the ENSO impact on the Distribution and Fate of Floating Litter Particles in the Northern South China Sea

Provisionally accepted
Ke Pang Ke Pang 1,2,3Yang Feng Yang Feng 2,4*Zheng Youchang Zheng Youchang 3,4Chao Fang Chao Fang 5Xiangrong Xu Xiangrong Xu 6
  • 1 State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Guangzhou, China
  • 2 Southern Ocean Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China
  • 3 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, Beijing, China
  • 4 South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Guangzhou, China
  • 5 Third Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China
  • 6 Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    A regional ocean circulation model coupled with a Lagrangian particle tracking model is utilized in this study to simulate the distribution and fate of floating litter particles in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) and Northern South China Sea (NSCS) under the influence of El Niño - Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event. Simulations are conducted during all four seasons (spring, summer, fall, and winter) in typical El Niño, La Niña, and ENSO-neutral year. The model reveals that most floating litter remains within Lingding Bay before being transported westward by the counterclockwise circulation over the NSCS and arriving at the Qiongzhou Strait. After crossing the Strait, the debris is carried by the counterclockwise circulation of the Beibu Gulf, and eventually arriving at the coasts of Vietnam and Laos. The ENSO warm (El Niño) and cold (La Niña) phases disrupt circulation patterns and modulate the amount of Pearl River runoff, thereby altering the transport pathways and grounding probabilities of floating litter. During La Niña years, floating litter particles spread over a wider area, travel longer distances, and have lower beaching probabilities. Conversely, during El Niño year, floating litter particles tend to remain within Lingding Bay for longer durations, with some debris entrained towards the Hong Kong region. This study underscores the impact of climate mode of variability in influencing the litter sources, fate and transport and accumulation at estuarine-coastal oceans, which will provide critical scientific insights for plastic pollution management in the PRE - NSCS region, which is a newly identified hotspot for floating litter and microplastic pollution in global oceans.

    Keywords: Floating litter, Enso, numerical model, Estuarine and coastal areas, Transport and distribution, Seasonal and interannual variability

    Received: 11 Sep 2024; Accepted: 23 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Pang, Feng, Youchang, Fang and Xu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Yang Feng, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Guangzhou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.