PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF THE INTERDISCIPLINARY PROBLEM OF MARINE ENVIRONMENT POLLUTION BY MICROPLASTICS – WORKS OF IRINA CHUBARENKO AND HER LABORATORY

Abstract

This paper reviews the research of Irina Chubarenko and the Laboratory for Marine Physics of the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences on the physical basis of microplastic behaviour and transport in the marine environment. It outlines the main strands of this research programme: relationships between particle size, shape and density and their buoyancy and settling velocity; microplastic transport and its mathematical modelling; coastal processes, including particle retention in beach sediments and the generation of secondary microplastics; interactions between particles and seabed sediments; and the temporary accumulation and redistribution of microplastics in estuaries and sea ice. Particular attention is paid to Irina Chubarenko’s physical approach, in which microplastic particles are treated not merely as pollutants but as dynamic objects whose behaviour depends on their intrinsic properties, hydrodynamic conditions and interactions with the natural environment. A defining feature of this work was the combination of laboratory experiments, field observations and analysis of physical mechanisms. This combination made it possible to move beyond describing spatial patterns of microplastic distribution towards explaining the processes responsible for particle transport, retention and accumulation. The review highlights the coherence and interdisciplinary importance of the research direction established by Irina Chubarenko and continued by her colleagues.