Marine Ecological Modeller for CUPIDO project to understand how microplastics influence the carbon sequestration flux in the Southern Ocean. Nan did his PhD study at Queen Mary University of London in understanding the fate and transport of microplastics. Nan has hands-on experience in modelling, lab experiments, environmental monitoring and meta-analysis for microplastics for over seven years.

Research interests

Biological carbon pump in the Scotia Sea

Biogeochemistry in the Southern Ocean, and potential carbon dioxide removal by the natural-based method

Interaction between microplastics and other natural particles from nanometres to a few hundred micrometres and consequences to the natural environment

Wu, N., Grieve, S.W., Manning, A.J. and Spencer, K.L., 2024. Flocs as vectors for microplastics in the aquatic environment. Nature Water, pp.1-9.

Wu, N., 2022. Tracing microplastic footprints through the plastisphere. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 3(8), pp.498-498.

Wu, N., Zhang, Y., Zhang, X., Zhao, Z., He, J., Li, W., Ma, Y. and Niu, Z., 2019. Occurrence and distribution of microplastics in the surface water and sediment of two typical estuaries in Bohai Bay, China. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, 21(7), pp.1143-1152.

Waldschläger, K., Brückner, M. Z., Almroth, B. C., Hackney, C. R., Adyel, T. M., Alimi, O. S., … & Wu, N. (2022). Learning from natural sediments to tackle microplastics challenges: A multidisciplinary perspective. Earth-Science Reviews, 228, 104021.

Wu, N., Zhang, Y., Zhao, Z., He, J., Li, W., Li, J., Ma, Y. and Niu, Z., 2020. Colonization characteristics of bacterial communities on microplastics compared with ambient environments (water and sediment) in Haihe Estuary. Science of The Total Environment, 708, p.134876.

Li, W., Zhang, Y., Wu, N., Zhao, Z., Xu, W.A., Ma, Y. and Niu, Z., 2019. Colonization characteristics of bacterial communities on plastic debris influenced by environmental factors and polymer types in the Haihe Estuary of Bohai Bay, China. Environmental science & technology, 53(18), pp.10763-10773.

Zhang, X., Zhang, Y., Wu, N., Li, W., Song, X., Ma, Y. and Niu, Z., 2021. Colonization characteristics of bacterial communities on plastic debris: the localization of immigrant bacterial communities. Water Research, 193, p.116883.

Wu, N., Zhang, Y., Li, W., Wang, J., Zhang, X., He, J., Li, J., Ma, Y. and Niu, Z., 2020. Co-effects of biofouling and inorganic matters increased the density of environmental microplastics in the sediments of Bohai Bay coast. Science of the Total Environment, 717, p.134431.

He, D., Chen, X., Zhao, W., Zhu, Z., Qi, X., Zhou, L., … & Wu, N. (2021). Microplastics contamination in the surface water of the Yangtze River from upstream to estuary based on different sampling methods. Environmental Research, 196, 110908.

Publications from NERC Open Research Archive

1. Plastic’s hidden cost to our climate

   CUPIDO aims to address: what is the role of zooplankton in promoting the transport of plastic in the ocean? And how this plastic transport interferes with zooplankton’s ability to store carbon in the deep ocean?

   Read more of: Plastic’s hidden cost to our climate