Marine debris collects within the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone

Pichel, William G.; Churnside, James H.; Veenstra, Timothy S.; Foley, David G.; Friedman, K.S.; Brainard, Russell E.; Nicoll, Jeremy B.; Zheng, Quanan; Clemente‐Colón, P.

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2007.04.010

Cited by 149 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In the open N Pacific abundances of floating wood are usually b1 item km − 2 (Matsumura and Nasu, 1997;Pichel et al, 2007).…”

Section: Floating Seaweedmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…seaweed beds, rivers, fishery and shipping activity), (ii) temporal supply dynamics (e.g. annual growth seasons for vegetation or river runoff for wood and litter) (Kingsford, 1992;Johansen, 1999;Hirata et al, 2001;Moore et al, 2002), (iii) their floating potential at the sea surface (Barnes and Fraser, 2003;Vandendriessche et al, 2007;Rothäusler et al, 2009), and (iv) winds, currents and other hydrographic features such as frontal systems that drive dispersal, accumulation and sink processes (Valle-Levinson et al, 2006;Komatsu et al, 2007;Pichel et al 2007;Astudillo et al, 2009;Martinez et al, 2009). In the German Bight floating wood and anthropogenic debris come through the major rivers, and supply may vary during the year due to seasonally varying river runoff.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Spatio-temporal distribution of floating objects in the German Bight (North Sea)

Thiel

Hinojosa

Joschko

et al. 2011

Journal of Sea Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Floating objects facilitate the dispersal of marine and terrestrial species but also represent a major environmental hazard in the case of anthropogenic plastic litter. They can be found throughout the world's oceans but information on their abundance and the spatio-temporal dynamics is scarce for many regions of the world. This information, however, is essential to evaluate the ecological role of floating objects. Herein, we report the results from a ship-based visual survey on the abundance and composition of flotsam in the German Bight (North Sea) during the years 2006 to 2008. The aim of this study was to identify potential sources of floating objects and to relate spatio-temporal density variations to environmental conditions. Three major flotsam categories were identified: buoyant seaweed (mainly fucoid brown algae), natural wood and anthropogenic debris. Densities of these floating objects in the German Bight were similar to those reported from other coastal regions of the world. Temporal variations in flotsam densities are probably the result of seasonal growth cycles of seaweeds and fluctuating river runoff (wood). Higher abundances were often found in areas where coastal fronts and eddies develop during calm weather conditions. Accordingly, flotsam densities were often higher in the inner German Bight than in areas farther offshore. Import of floating objects and retention times in the German Bight are influenced by wind force and direction. Our results indicate that a substantial amount of floating objects is of coastal origin or introduced into the German Bight from western source areas such as the British Channel. Rapid transport of floating objects through the German Bight is driven by strong westerly winds and likely facilitates dispersal of associated organisms and gene flow among distant populations.

show abstract

“…In the open N Pacific abundances of floating wood are usually b1 item km − 2 (Matsumura and Nasu, 1997;Pichel et al, 2007).…”

Section: Floating Seaweedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatio-temporal distribution of floating objects in the German Bight (North Sea)

Thiel

Hinojosa

Joschko

et al. 2011

Journal of Sea Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…data). Marine debris is a persistent problem in the NWHI, as it accumulates in the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone (STCZ) and is transported southward towards the NWHI by the seasonal migration of the STCZ and by prevailing wind and wave regimes (Pichel et al, 2007). Factors such as shallow water depth, high-relief reef structure, and low exposure to significant wave height within the sheltered lagoons enhance the potential of marine debris to settle on reefs in the NWHI, where mechanical damage ensues to benthic communities including corals (Donohue et al, 2001).…”

Section: Health Status Of Maro Reef Coral Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community structure of hermatypic corals at Maro Reef in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands: A unique open atoll

Kenyon¹,

Wilkinson²,

Aeby³

2008

Atoll Research Bulletin

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Percent cover of shallow-water (< 20m) scleractinian corals at Maro Reef, an open atoll with no perimeter reef in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), was quantified from analysis of imagery recorded along more than 81 km of benthic habitat by towed divers and at 18 sites surveyed with video transects and photoquadrats. Colony densities and size class distributions were determined from censuses within belt transects at the same sites. All three methods showed statistically significant differences in total coral cover and relative abundance of coral genera among four geographic sectors characterized by different exposure to prevailing wave regimes. Massive and encrusting growth forms of Porites dominated coral cover and density throughout all sectors, with Montipora the next most dominant genus. Patterns of highest coral cover differed from that of most other classic and open atolls in the NWHI. Populations of Pocillopora, though contributing little to percent cover, attained the largest colony sizes of any reef system in the NWHI surveyed with similar methods. Numerous indicators, including coral percent cover, recovery from bleaching, low coral disease prevalence, rarity of crown-of-thorns seastars, and high larval recruitment rates suggest healthy coral communities at Maro Reef, although the predicted accumulation of marine debris from outside sources remains problematic. These data enable the most comprehensive quantitative description of coral communities at Maro Reef produced to date and are a valuable baseline for assessing change.

show abstract

“…Some of the seasonal variability on Midway Atoll is likely due to the geographical location of the Atoll with respect to the Subtropical Convergence Zone (STCZ). Midway Atoll is closer to the STCZ, with its concentration of marine debris (Pichel et al, 2007), than is French Frigate Shoals (Fig. 1), so the effects of the seasonal movement of the STCZ (Bograd et al, 2004) are more likely to be found on Midway Atoll.…”

mentioning

confidence: 95%

“…The 18°C SST isotherm can be used as an index to how close the Subtropical Convergence Zone, which concentrates debris, is to the Atoll (Pichel et al, 2007). Sea surface temperature (SST) data were obtained from the optimum interpolation SST analysis V2 (Reynolds et al, 2002).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Baseline for beached marine debris on Sand Island, Midway Atoll

Ribic

Sheavly

Klavitter

2012

Marine Pollution Bulletin

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a b s t r a c tBaseline measurements were made of the amount and weight of beached marine debris on Sand Island, Midway Atoll, June 2008-July 2010. On 23 surveys, 32,696 total debris objects (identifiable items and pieces) were collected; total weight was 740.4 kg. Seventy-two percent of the total was pieces; 91% of the pieces were made of plastic materials. Pieces were composed primarily of polyethylene and polypropylene. Identifiable items were 28% of the total; 88% of the identifiable items were in the fishing/aquaculture/shipping-related and beverage/household products-related categories. Identifiable items were lowest during April-August, while pieces were at their lowest during June-August. Sites facing the North Pacific Gyre received the most debris and proportionately more pieces. More debris tended to be found on Sand Island when the Subtropical Convergence Zone was closer to the Atoll. This information can be used for potential mitigation and to understand the impacts of large-scale events such as the 2011 Japanese tsunami.Published by Elsevier Ltd.Marine debris is one of the important management problems facing the islands in the Papahā naumokuā kea Marine National Monument (Monument) (Selkoe et al., 2008). The coastal areas of these islands are dynamic environments in which debris is deposited on the beaches and re-circulated into the near-shore area via wave action, tides, and storms. Because of the minimal human population in the Monument and rigorous on-island waste management, marine debris comes entirely from sources external to the Monument. Marine debris research in the Monument has focused on the impact of fishing nets on coral systems and the endangered Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) (Boland and Donohue, 2003;Dameron et al., 2007). This has resulted in marine debris management being focused on removal of fishing nets and other gear. Little is known about other beached marine debris in the Monument (McDermid and McMullen, 2004;Morishige et al., 2007), other than that debris deposited on Monument beaches arrives from non-Monument sources. The objective of this study was to collect baseline information on the full spectrum of marine debris deposited on Monument beaches.The study was done on Sand Island, Midway Atoll; Sand Island is part of the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. The island has an average population of 92 people and has the infrastructure to support a monitoring program. Four monitoring sites were used; the sites were 150-m lengths of beach with randomly chosen starting points. Two sites were on North Sand Island (facing the North Pacific Gyre), one site was on the west side (oblique to the Gyre), and one was on the south side (where the fringing reef is closest to shore) (Fig. 1). Site boundaries were established using GPS and marked at ground level so as not to pose a hazard to flying birds or other wildlife using these beach areas. The markers were made from existing debris found on the island -derelict fishing buoys anchored into the sand by construction reba...

show abstract

Marine debris collects within the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone

Cited by 149 publications

References 9 publications

Spatio-temporal distribution of floating objects in the German Bight (North Sea)

Spatio-temporal distribution of floating objects in the German Bight (North Sea)

Community structure of hermatypic corals at Maro Reef in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands: A unique open atoll

Baseline for beached marine debris on Sand Island, Midway Atoll

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About