Litter trends at three stations of the HAUSGARTEN observatory ...

• Main Authors: Parga Martínez, Karla B, Tekman, Mine Banu, Bergmann, Melanie
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2020
• Subjects: deep seafloor; Hausgarten; marine litter; plastic; Event label; Persistent Identifier; Uniform resource locator/link to image; Image number/name; Year of imagery; Station label; Area; Marine litter; Marine litter, plastic; Marine litter, rubber; Marine litter, styrofoam; Marine litter, plastic, fisheries; Marine litter, rope; Marine litter, glass; Marine litter, timber; Marine litter, paper; Marine litter, metal; Marine litter, food waste; Marine litter, unidentified; Marine litter, fabric; Marine litter, pottery; Marine litter, small items; Marine litter, medium items; Marine litter, large items; Fauna interaction with litter; Interaction, megafauna; Interaction with litter, Cladorhiza gelida; Type of interaction with litter, Cladorhiza gelida; Interaction with litter, Hormathiidae; Type of interaction with litter, Hormathiidae; Interaction with litter, Caulophacus arcticus; Type of interaction with litter, Caulophacus arcticus; Interaction with litter, Caulophacus debris; Type of interaction with litter, Caulophacus debris; Interaction with litter, Bathyphellia margaritacea; Type of interaction with litter, Bathyphellia margaritacea; Interaction with litter, Bathycrinus carpenterii; Type of interaction with litter, Bathycrinus carpenterii; Interaction with litter, Bythocaris sp.; Type of interaction with litter, Bythocaris sp.; Interaction with litter, Birsteiniamysis inermis; Type of interaction with litter, Birsteiniamysis inermis; Interaction with litter, Gersemia fruticosa; Type of interaction with litter, Gersemia fruticosa; Interaction with litter, Verum striolatum; Type of interaction with litter, Verum striolatum; Arctic Ocean
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.912471; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.912471

The deep sea is considered a major sink for debris even in regions as secluded as the Arctic Ocean. Here, we assess the variability of litter over a latitudinal gradient at the HAUSGARTEN observatory by adding imagery from the southernmost station S3 to previously published data from the northernmost station N3 and the central station HG-IV. The analysis includes footage of the seafloor from 2002 to 2017. Photographic surveys were analyzed to determine litter density, material composition, size and interactions with epibenthic fauna. Litter density clearly increased over time ranging between 813 ± 525 (SEM) and 6,717 ± 2,044 (SEM) items km-². The dominant material was plastic and small-sized items accounted for 63% of the litter in the observatory. N3 experienced the strongest increase in litter dominated by dark pieces of glass (41%). Interactions between litter and epibenthic megafauna were frequently observed (45% of items) in the form of entanglement with sponges or colonization by sea anemones. ...