Coastal Resilience Talks: The Key Role of Coastal Processes in the Fate of Marine Plastic Pollution by Erik van Sebille
How beaching, resuspension, and complex flows shape the journey of plastic in the ocean — a dialogue with Erik van Sebille.
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Date: 21 OCTOBER 2025 from 14:00 to 15:00
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Event location: Online event
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Type: Webinars
On 21 October 2025, from 14:00 to 15:00 CEST, the Coastal Resilience Talks will feature Professor Erik van Sebille, oceanographer at Utrecht University, in a webinar moderated by Professor Nadia Pinardi (DCC-CR).
Abstract
Most plastic pollution entering the ocean lingers in coastal zones for a while. Its transport and fragmentation there is controlled by processes such as beaching, resuspension and complex flow. Combining drifter data, lab experiments and numerical simulations reveals the key role of coasts in the fate of plastic pollution.
About the Speaker
Erik van Sebille is Professor of Oceanography and Public Engagement at Utrecht University. He has received the Outstanding Young Scientist Award from EGU’s Ocean Science division, the AGU Macelwane Medal, and the Georg Wüst prize. He is the lead developer of the open-source OceanParcels.org code and principal investigator of the project Tracing Marine Macroplastics by Unraveling the Ocean’s Multiscale Transport Processes.