Fig. 2: Typical vertical trajectories observed for biofouled and pristine anisotropic and isotropic plastics.
From: Biofouling changes the settling dynamics of macroplastic plates
Vertical trajectories were observed for rectangular (A–G), square (H-K) and spherical (L) plastics, with their instantaneous vertical velocities (\({w}_{i}\)) shown in a colour scale. A–C and H–J Rectangular and square plates settling in an oscillating mode 1 type of settling. D A PTFE plate settling in a fast mode 2 type of trajectory. E, K PTFE rectangular and POM square plates travelling initially in mode 2 and transitioning to mode 1. F, G Biofouled PTFE plates settling in a mode 3 chaotic type of trajectory. L A PTFE spherical plastic settling in a straight vertical trajectory. M Diagrams of the three different release positions adopted to release the anisotropic plastics into the settling tank at a distance of 2 cm below the water surface. Animations of each trajectory are available in Supplementary Movie 1.
