Floating marine debris in Arctic and temperate Northeast Atlantic waters
The amount of floating plastics at the surface of the oceans was estimated as 5 trillion pieces and they are known to accumulate in subtropical gyres, enclosed basins, or coastal margins. However, our knowledge about concentrations of floating marine debris in vast stretches of the open ocean is lim...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Conference Object |
| Language: | unknown |
| Published: |
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/57159/ https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.8c79f819-dba9-4c19-a5ea-21d9e36c6dad |
| Summary: | The amount of floating plastics at the surface of the oceans was estimated as 5 trillion pieces and they are known to accumulate in subtropical gyres, enclosed basins, or coastal margins. However, our knowledge about concentrations of floating marine debris in vast stretches of the open ocean is limited, especially in remote geographic regions such as the Arctic Ocean. To fill this gap, we conducted a vessel-based surface observer programme (visual surveys) in the Northeast (NE) Atlantic from waters off the Iberian Peninsula to the Central Arctic between 2015 and 2020, with a focus on Arctic waters. Marine debris experts, trained scientists from fields other than pollution or non-professional citizen scientists recorded the amount of floating debris from the moving ship during times of daylight and sufficient visibility. Spatiotemporal variations among regional seas (Central Arctic, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, Norwegian Sea, North Sea) and oceanic regions (Arctic waters and the temperate NE Atlantic) were explored based on the findings of 276 visual surveys covering a total length of 4,793 km and an area of 47.35 km2. Plastics accounted for 91% of 1,149 anthropogenic items observed on 191 transects. Other types of anthropogenic items included glass, timber, metal, paper, organic waste (3%). The median debris concentration ranged from zero to 356 items km-2. In Arctic waters and in the temperate NE Atlantic Ocean, the median concentrations across all years were 11 items km-2 each. The median concentration was highest in the North Sea with 19 items km-2 and zero in the Central Arctic due to the high number of debris-free transects above 80th latitude. However, during the remaining visual surveys, large aggregations were observed, indicating that the Central Arctic is not entirely free of floating debris. In other Nordic seas, the median concentration ranged from 9 to 13 items km-2. The regional seas and oceanic regions did not show statistically significant differences in concentrations, indicating a common supply ... |
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