The classic theory of steady wave motion predicts a phenomenon called Stokes drift, in which particles spread horizontally in the direction of wave travel. That means that something like microplastics will drift in the direction that waves are traveling. But in the real world, ocean waves aren't quite so neat and unchanging. A new study looks at what happens when waves are decaying in strength--in other words, what happens in our world when the wind dies down. (Image credit: N. Jensen; research credit: T. Izawa et al.; via Physics World)