Are Antarctic Specially Protected Areas safe from plastic pollution? a survey of plastic litter at Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica
A number of studies have reported in the last decades the presence of plastics in the Southern Ocean, which are liable to reach the coast and accumulate on the Antarctic Continent. Despite this, there are few data on the amount of plastic pollution on Antarctic beaches below 60°S. Here we provide va...
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Polar Research Institute of China - PRIC
2020
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ftarcticportal:oai:generic.eprints.org:2738 2023-12-10T09:39:00+01:00 Are Antarctic Specially Protected Areas safe from plastic pollution? a survey of plastic litter at Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica Almela, Pablo Gonzalez, Sergi 2020-12 application/pdf http://library.arcticportal.org/2738/ http://library.arcticportal.org/2738/1/A202004006.pdf en eng Polar Research Institute of China - PRIC http://library.arcticportal.org/2738/1/A202004006.pdf Almela, Pablo and Gonzalez, Sergi (2020) Are Antarctic Specially Protected Areas safe from plastic pollution? a survey of plastic litter at Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica. Advances in Polar Science, 31 (4). pp. 284-290. Article PeerReviewed 2020 ftarcticportal 2023-11-15T23:54:41Z A number of studies have reported in the last decades the presence of plastics in the Southern Ocean, which are liable to reach the coast and accumulate on the Antarctic Continent. Despite this, there are few data on the amount of plastic pollution on Antarctic beaches below 60°S. Here we provide valuable information about the presence of plastic debris in Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, an Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) and a hotspot for biodiversity. A total of 129 locations with between 1 and 5 items were recorded among the 3 survey sites on Byers Peninsula. Most of the observed items are likely to derive from fishing and local sources such as tourism and research activities. We discuss the potential impacts of their presence on local fauna and some of the consequences on the Antarctic ecosystem. From this survey of plastic accumulation in an ASPA, we propose the implementation of mitigation strategies, such as systematic monitoring of the abundance and distribution of plastic waste, in order to identify trends in marine debris and control the levels of plastic pollution in the Maritime Antarctic region. Article in Journal/Newspaper Advances in Polar Science Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Livingston Island Polar Science Polar Science South Shetland Islands Southern Ocean Arctic Portal Library Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic South Shetland Islands Livingston Island ENVELOPE(-60.500,-60.500,-62.600,-62.600) Byers ENVELOPE(-60.283,-60.283,-63.900,-63.900) Byers peninsula ENVELOPE(-61.066,-61.066,-62.633,-62.633) |
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Open Polar |
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Arctic Portal Library |
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ftarcticportal |
language |
English |
description |
A number of studies have reported in the last decades the presence of plastics in the Southern Ocean, which are liable to reach the coast and accumulate on the Antarctic Continent. Despite this, there are few data on the amount of plastic pollution on Antarctic beaches below 60°S. Here we provide valuable information about the presence of plastic debris in Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, an Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) and a hotspot for biodiversity. A total of 129 locations with between 1 and 5 items were recorded among the 3 survey sites on Byers Peninsula. Most of the observed items are likely to derive from fishing and local sources such as tourism and research activities. We discuss the potential impacts of their presence on local fauna and some of the consequences on the Antarctic ecosystem. From this survey of plastic accumulation in an ASPA, we propose the implementation of mitigation strategies, such as systematic monitoring of the abundance and distribution of plastic waste, in order to identify trends in marine debris and control the levels of plastic pollution in the Maritime Antarctic region. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Almela, Pablo Gonzalez, Sergi |
spellingShingle |
Almela, Pablo Gonzalez, Sergi Are Antarctic Specially Protected Areas safe from plastic pollution? a survey of plastic litter at Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica |
author_facet |
Almela, Pablo Gonzalez, Sergi |
author_sort |
Almela, Pablo |
title |
Are Antarctic Specially Protected Areas safe from plastic pollution? a survey of plastic litter at Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica |
title_short |
Are Antarctic Specially Protected Areas safe from plastic pollution? a survey of plastic litter at Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica |
title_full |
Are Antarctic Specially Protected Areas safe from plastic pollution? a survey of plastic litter at Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Are Antarctic Specially Protected Areas safe from plastic pollution? a survey of plastic litter at Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Are Antarctic Specially Protected Areas safe from plastic pollution? a survey of plastic litter at Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica |
title_sort |
are antarctic specially protected areas safe from plastic pollution? a survey of plastic litter at byers peninsula, livingston island, antarctica |
publisher |
Polar Research Institute of China - PRIC |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://library.arcticportal.org/2738/ http://library.arcticportal.org/2738/1/A202004006.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-60.500,-60.500,-62.600,-62.600) ENVELOPE(-60.283,-60.283,-63.900,-63.900) ENVELOPE(-61.066,-61.066,-62.633,-62.633) |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic South Shetland Islands Livingston Island Byers Byers peninsula |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic South Shetland Islands Livingston Island Byers Byers peninsula |
genre |
Advances in Polar Science Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Livingston Island Polar Science Polar Science South Shetland Islands Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Advances in Polar Science Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Livingston Island Polar Science Polar Science South Shetland Islands Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
http://library.arcticportal.org/2738/1/A202004006.pdf Almela, Pablo and Gonzalez, Sergi (2020) Are Antarctic Specially Protected Areas safe from plastic pollution? a survey of plastic litter at Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica. Advances in Polar Science, 31 (4). pp. 284-290. |
_version_ |
1784892896361578496 |