Some fraction of the deployed biomass may not successfully sink to the ocean floor or might not sink at suitable depth for long-term storage. This could be a result of biomass being shed during the sinking process, which could be modeled as a function of biomass type and sinking configuration based on field observations. For biomass that sinks after some period of floating in the open ocean (e.g. biomass-based buoys), the possibility that biomass may end up being beached or sinking in areas that do not result in permanent storage (e.g. shallow waters or areas of upwelling) must also be considered. Existing surface ocean transport models could be validated based on GPS-based observational data.