A review on generation and transport processes of meso- and microplastics drifting in the coastal and open oceans is provided. A special attention is given to a transport process in coastal waters, where mesoplastics are selectively conveyed onshore by a combination of Stokes drift and terminal velocity, dependent on fragment sizes. It is suggested that mesoplastics washed ashore on beaches degrade into microplastics, and that the microplastics, which are free from near-shore trapping, are thereafter spread offshore.
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