plasticparcels is a python package for simulating the transport and dispersion of plastics in the ocean.
The tool is based on the Parcels computational Lagrangian ocean analysis framework (@Lange2017 and @Delandmeter2019), providing a modular and customisable collection of methods, notebooks, and tutorials for advecting virtual plastic particles with a wide range of physical properties.
plasticparcels can be installed using conda from the conda-forge channel with the following command:
conda install conda-forge::plasticparcelsplasticparcels has been developed for use with data from the Copernicus Marine Service, and requires the following data to run:
- Hydrodynamic model data: MOI GLO12 (psy4v3r1)
- Biogeochemical model data: MOI BIO4 (biomer4v2r1)
- Wave data: ECMWF ERA5 Wave (specifically, the variables
mean_wave_period,peak_wave_period,u_component_stokes_drift, andv_component_stokes_drift.) - Wind data: ECMWF ERA5 Wind (specifically, the variables
10m_u_component_of_windand10m_v_component_of_wind)
For downloading the wind and wave data, we recommend using the CDS API.
To run most of the examples, you will need to update the data directories in the relevant settings .json file.
Just like the parcels framework, plasticparcels can be adapted to use other hydrodynamic, biogeochemical, wave, and atmospheric models. If you require assistance, please contact us through the plasticparcels discussions page.
We welcome contributions to plasticparcels, especially example workbooks and analyses for our public examples page. To contribute to the project, please submit a pull request.
If you want to request a new feature, or if you find an issue or bug in the code, please open an issue in the plasticparcels issue tracker.
If you would like support using plasticparcels, or are have any questions about your plasticparcels simulations, please start a discussion in the plasticparcels discussion page.
For more information and documentation, see the plasticparcels documentation.
