Black sea marine litter pollution related to naval operations

Abstract

The Black Sea, due to its weak exchange of waters and poor vertical circulation, has an increased sensibility to pollution. Even though this maritime basin is subject to numerous regulations at the national, regional, and international levels, the pollution issue is still actual and stringent. The present paper analyses the findings of three studies focused on marine litter issues and provide, in the concluding part, few directions which can improve the pollution prevention and containment effort. As the studies related to Black Sea litter pollution are scarce and fragmented, the authors took the opportunity and analyzed three different studies conducted in different periods and concluded that a significant part of marine debris is related to naval operations.

Analyzing a Black Sea Naval Accident Through the Stamp Method

“…These values are reduced due to the continental river water influx (The Danube, Dnieper, Dniester, and Buh) and reduced volume exchanged with the Mediterranean Sea. It is known that there are two currents: a surface one conveying about 600 km 3 /year, waters with low salinity from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and a reverse one conveying about 300 km 3 /year, Mediterranean waters with high salinity values [6].…”

The Actual Security Climate in the Black Sea Basin

“…Its affluent area covers lengthy parts of Europe and Asia, furnishing the supply of freshwater volumes of 3 x 102 km3 each year. The compelling freshwater input comes from rivers like the Danube, Dnieper, Southern Bug, Dniester, Don, and Kuban [3][4][5]. This freshwater inflow is culpable for the poor salinity of these sea waters, practically 18 % compared to 35‰ of the Mediterranean Sea.…”

UAVs Support to Naval Operations

“…Recent discoveries of oil and gas resources under the seabed raised the area's economic interest, and the naval operations will proportionally increase [16]. Though the exchange of waters is low, and the Black Sea is sensitive to any pollution; still, significant values of pollution are registered [13,17,18]. All the above activities claim UAVs' employment either for military purposes or for traffic or environment monitoring.…”