Estuarine Particles Simulations: the Connection Between Delaware Bay and Offshore Wind Lease Areas

The issue of microplastics is becoming increasingly severe; meanwhile, there is a surge in the construction of offshore wind farms. The base of wind turbines can act as artificial reefs, playing a positive role in facilitating the proliferation of a variety of marine organisms and the establishment of ecosystems. However, the potential impact of microplastics from estuaries on the ecosystems within wind farms is concerning. In this study, we use the particle tracking model ROMSPath to perform a simulation tracking the trajectories of 3650 particles over a year to reveal the connectivity from Delaware Bay to offshore wind lease areas located in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. The results suggest that 92% of the particles released from Delaware Bay did not remain in any wind lease areas after 180 days. A total of 26 wind lease areas were reached by the particles, with the area hosting the highest percentage capturing up to 41% of the particles. The particles were released from the Delaware River near Wilmington, DE and it took a minimum of 54 days for them to reach the wind lease area nearest to the bay mouth. The average residence time of the particles ranges from 0.14 to 6.5 days, indicating it would be reasonable to assume a particular impact from estuarine outflow on the wind lease area ecosystems. This study provides a reference for understanding estuarine particles' dispersion and migration patterns entering offshore wind development zones.