Distribution and abundance of anthropogenic marine debris along the shelf and slope of the US West Coast

Keller, Aimee A.; Fruh, Erica L.; Johnson, Melanie M.; Simon, Victor; McGourty, Catherine

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2009.12.006

Cited by 94 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…In the North Sea, this percentage has been temporally stable (Galgani et al 2011a) but litter may be supplemented by coastal recreational activities and riverine input (Lechner et al 2014;Morritt et al 2014). Studies along the US west coast, specifically off the coast of the southern California Bight (Moore and Allen 2000;Watters et al 2010;Keller et al 2010;Schlining et al 2013) have shown that ocean-based sources are the major contributors to marine debris in the eastern North Pacific with, for example, fishing gear being the most abundant debris off Oregon (June 1990). Investigations in coastal waters and beaches around the northern South China Sea in 2009 and 2010 indicated that plastics (45 %) and Styrofoam (23 %) accounted for more than 90 % of floating debris and 95 % of beached debris.…”

Section: Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Only few studies have assessed debris below 500 m depth (June 1990;Galil et al 1995;Galgani et al 1996Galgani et al , 2000Galgani and Lecornu 2004;Keller et al 2010;Miyake et al 2011;Mordecai et al 2011;Bergmann and Klages 2012;Wei et al 2012;Pham et al 2013Pham et al , 2014Ramirez-Llodra et al 2013, Schlining et al 2013Fischer et al 2015;Vieira et al 2014);Galgani et al (2000) observed trends in deep-sea pollution over time off the European coast with an extremely variable distribution and debris accumulating in submarine canyons. Miyake et al (2011) recorded debris down to 7,216 m depth in video surveys from the Ryukyu Trench.…”

Section: Seafloormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent studies conducted in coastal deep-sea areas along California and the Gulf of Mexico (Watters et al 2010;Schlining et al 2013;Wei et al 2012) confirmed this pattern. Also, an analysis of the composition and abundance of man-made, benthic marine debris collected in bottom trawl surveys at 1,347 randomly-selected stations along the US west coast in 2007 and 2008 indicated that densities increased significantly with depth, ranging from 30 items km −2 in shallow (55-183 m) to 128 items km −2 in the deepest waters surveyed (550-1,280 m) (Keller et al 2010). Higher densities at the bottom were also found in particular areas such as those around rocks, wrecks as well as in depressions or channels (Galgani et al 1996).…”

Section: Seafloormentioning

confidence: 99%

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Global Distribution, Composition and Abundance of Marine Litter

Galgani

Hanke

Maes

2015

Marine Anthropogenic Litter

445

338

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Marine debris is commonly observed everywhere in the oceans. Litter enters the seas from both land-based sources, from ships and other installations at sea, from point and diffuse sources, and can travel long distances before being stranded. Plastics typically constitute the most important part of marine litter sometimes accounting for up to 100 % of floating litter. On beaches, most studies have demonstrated densities in the 1 item m −2 range except for very high concentrations because of local conditions, after typhoons or flooding events. Floating marine debris ranges from 0 to beyond 600 items km −2 . On the sea bed, the abundance of plastic debris is very dependent on location, with densities ranging from 0 to >7700 items km −2 , mainly in coastal areas. Recent studies have demonstrated that pollution of microplastics, particles <5 mm, has spread at the surface of oceans, in the water column and in sediments, even in the deep sea. Concentrations at the water surface ranged from thousands to hundred thousands of particles km −2 . Fluxes vary widely with factors such as proximity of urban activities, shore and coastal uses, wind and ocean currents. These enable the presence of accumulation areas in oceanic convergence zones and on the seafloor, notably in coastal canyons. Temporal trends are not clear with evidences for increases, decreases or without changes, depending on locations and environmental conditions. In terms of distribution and quantities, proper global estimations based on standardized approaches are still needed before considering efficient management and reduction measures.

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Section: Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Seafloormentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Seafloormentioning

confidence: 99%

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Global Distribution, Composition and Abundance of Marine Litter

Galgani

Hanke

Maes

2015

Marine Anthropogenic Litter

445

338

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“…Bingel et al 1987;Galil et al 1995;Galgani et al 1995Galgani et al , 1996. Interestingly, although benthic litter tends to concentrate around coastal cities and river mouths, the density of litter is often greater in deep waters along the continental shelf edge than in shallow, inshore waters due to the decrease in bottom currents offshore (Galgani et al 1995(Galgani et al , 2000Barnes et al 2009;Keller et al 2010). …”

Section: The Early 1970s-pellets and Other Problems In The North Atlamentioning

confidence: 99%

A Brief History of Marine Litter Research

Ryan

2015

Marine Anthropogenic Litter

211

153

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This chapter traces the history of marine litter research from anecdotal reports of entanglement and plastic ingestion in the 1960s to the current focus on microplastics and their role in the transfer of persistent organic pollutants to marine food webs. The reports in Science of large numbers of plastic pellets in the North Atlantic in the early 1970s stimulated research interest in plastic litter at sea, with papers reporting plastics on the seafloor and impacting a variety of marine animals. The focus then shifted to high concentrations of plastic litter in the North Pacific, where novel studies reported the dynamics of stranded beach litter, the factors influencing plastic ingestion by seabirds, and trends in fur seal entanglement. By the early 1980s, growing concern about the potential impacts of marine litter resulted in a series of meetings on marine debris. The first two international conferences held in Honolulu by the US National Marine Fisheries Service played a key role in setting the research agenda for the next decade. By the end of the 1980s, most impacts of marine litter were reasonably well understood, and attention shifted to seeking effective solutions to tackle the marine litter problem. Research was largely restricted to monitoring trends in litter to assess the effectiveness of mitigation measures, until the last decade, when concern about microplastics coupled with the discovery of alarming densities of small plastic particles in the North Pacific 'garbage patch' (and other mid-ocean gyres) stimulated the current wave of research.

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“…The consequence is an accumulation of litter on specific seabed locations in response to local sources and oceanographic conditions http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.09.044 0025-326X/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (Galgani et al, 2000;Keller et al, 2010;Watters et al, 2010;Ramirez-Lolodra et al, 2013;Pham et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparative study of marine litter on the seafloor of coastal areas in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Seas

Ioakeimidis

Zeri

Kaberi

et al. 2014

Marine Pollution Bulletin

135

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In the present work, abundance, spatial distribution and qualitative composition, of benthic marine litter, were investigated in five study areas from the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Seas (Saronikos, Patras and Echinades Gulfs; Limassol Gulf; Constanta Bay). Surveys were performed using the monitoring protocol proposed by the Technical Group for Marine Litter. Densities ranged from 24items/km(2) to 1211items/km(2), with the Saronikos Gulf being the most affected area. Plastics were predominant in all study areas ranging from 45.2% to 95%. Metals and Glass/Ceramics reached maximum values of 21.9% and of 22.4%. The size distribution of litter items showed that ⩾50% fall into medium size categories (10×10cm, 20×20cm) along with an elevated percentage of small-sized (<5×5cm) plastic litter items. The comparative analysis of the data highlighted the dependence of the marine litter problem on many local factors (human sources and oceanographic conditions) and the urgent need for specific actions.

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Distribution and abundance of anthropogenic marine debris along the shelf and slope of the US West Coast

Cited by 94 publications

References 24 publications

Global Distribution, Composition and Abundance of Marine Litter

Global Distribution, Composition and Abundance of Marine Litter

A Brief History of Marine Litter Research

A comparative study of marine litter on the seafloor of coastal areas in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Seas

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