Marine litter distribution and density in European seas, from the shelves to deep basins
Anthropogenic litter is present in all marine habitats, from beaches to the most remote points in the oceans. On the seafloor, marine litter, particularly plastic, can accumulate in high densities with deleterious consequences for its inhabitants. Yet, because of the high cost involved with sampling...
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ftunivgent:oai:archive.ugent.be:5673978 2023-06-11T04:15:16+02:00 Marine litter distribution and density in European seas, from the shelves to deep basins Pham, Christopher K Ramirez-Llodra, Eva Alt, Claudia HS Amaro, Teresa Bergmann, Melanie Canals, Miquel Company, Joan B Davies, Jaime Duineveld, Gerard Galgani, François Howell, Kerry L Huvenne, Veerle AI Isidro, Eduardo Jones, Daniel OB Lastras, Galderic Morato, Telmo Gomes-Pereira, José Nubo Purser, Autun Stewart, Heather Tojeira, Ines Tubau, Xavier Van Rooij, David Tyler, Paul A 2014 application/pdf https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/5673978 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-5673978 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0095839 https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/5673978/file/5674056 eng eng https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/5673978 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-5673978 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0095839 https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/5673978/file/5674056 No license (in copyright) info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess PLOS ONE ISSN: 1932-6203 Earth and Environmental Sciences ABUNDANCE CALIFORNIA BEACH DEBRIS MEDITERRANEAN-SEA NORTHEAST ATLANTIC GERMAN BIGHT COASTAL WATERS CONTINENTAL-SHELF PLASTIC DEBRIS SUBMARINE-CANYON journalArticle info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2014 ftunivgent https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0095839 2023-05-10T22:25:47Z Anthropogenic litter is present in all marine habitats, from beaches to the most remote points in the oceans. On the seafloor, marine litter, particularly plastic, can accumulate in high densities with deleterious consequences for its inhabitants. Yet, because of the high cost involved with sampling the seafloor, no large-scale assessment of distribution patterns was available to date. Here, we present data on litter distribution and density collected during 588 video and trawl surveys across 32 sites in European waters. We found litter to be present in the deepest areas and at locations as remote from land as the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The highest litter density occurs in submarine canyons, whilst the lowest density can be found on continental shelves and on ocean ridges. Plastic was the most prevalent litter item found on the seafloor. Litter from fishing activities (derelict fishing lines and nets) was particularly common on seamounts, banks, mounds and ocean ridges. Our results highlight the extent of the problem and the need for action to prevent increasing accumulation of litter in marine environments. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northeast Atlantic Ghent University Academic Bibliography Mid-Atlantic Ridge PLoS ONE 9 4 e95839 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Ghent University Academic Bibliography |
op_collection_id |
ftunivgent |
language |
English |
topic |
Earth and Environmental Sciences ABUNDANCE CALIFORNIA BEACH DEBRIS MEDITERRANEAN-SEA NORTHEAST ATLANTIC GERMAN BIGHT COASTAL WATERS CONTINENTAL-SHELF PLASTIC DEBRIS SUBMARINE-CANYON |
spellingShingle |
Earth and Environmental Sciences ABUNDANCE CALIFORNIA BEACH DEBRIS MEDITERRANEAN-SEA NORTHEAST ATLANTIC GERMAN BIGHT COASTAL WATERS CONTINENTAL-SHELF PLASTIC DEBRIS SUBMARINE-CANYON Pham, Christopher K Ramirez-Llodra, Eva Alt, Claudia HS Amaro, Teresa Bergmann, Melanie Canals, Miquel Company, Joan B Davies, Jaime Duineveld, Gerard Galgani, François Howell, Kerry L Huvenne, Veerle AI Isidro, Eduardo Jones, Daniel OB Lastras, Galderic Morato, Telmo Gomes-Pereira, José Nubo Purser, Autun Stewart, Heather Tojeira, Ines Tubau, Xavier Van Rooij, David Tyler, Paul A Marine litter distribution and density in European seas, from the shelves to deep basins |
topic_facet |
Earth and Environmental Sciences ABUNDANCE CALIFORNIA BEACH DEBRIS MEDITERRANEAN-SEA NORTHEAST ATLANTIC GERMAN BIGHT COASTAL WATERS CONTINENTAL-SHELF PLASTIC DEBRIS SUBMARINE-CANYON |
description |
Anthropogenic litter is present in all marine habitats, from beaches to the most remote points in the oceans. On the seafloor, marine litter, particularly plastic, can accumulate in high densities with deleterious consequences for its inhabitants. Yet, because of the high cost involved with sampling the seafloor, no large-scale assessment of distribution patterns was available to date. Here, we present data on litter distribution and density collected during 588 video and trawl surveys across 32 sites in European waters. We found litter to be present in the deepest areas and at locations as remote from land as the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The highest litter density occurs in submarine canyons, whilst the lowest density can be found on continental shelves and on ocean ridges. Plastic was the most prevalent litter item found on the seafloor. Litter from fishing activities (derelict fishing lines and nets) was particularly common on seamounts, banks, mounds and ocean ridges. Our results highlight the extent of the problem and the need for action to prevent increasing accumulation of litter in marine environments. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Pham, Christopher K Ramirez-Llodra, Eva Alt, Claudia HS Amaro, Teresa Bergmann, Melanie Canals, Miquel Company, Joan B Davies, Jaime Duineveld, Gerard Galgani, François Howell, Kerry L Huvenne, Veerle AI Isidro, Eduardo Jones, Daniel OB Lastras, Galderic Morato, Telmo Gomes-Pereira, José Nubo Purser, Autun Stewart, Heather Tojeira, Ines Tubau, Xavier Van Rooij, David Tyler, Paul A |
author_facet |
Pham, Christopher K Ramirez-Llodra, Eva Alt, Claudia HS Amaro, Teresa Bergmann, Melanie Canals, Miquel Company, Joan B Davies, Jaime Duineveld, Gerard Galgani, François Howell, Kerry L Huvenne, Veerle AI Isidro, Eduardo Jones, Daniel OB Lastras, Galderic Morato, Telmo Gomes-Pereira, José Nubo Purser, Autun Stewart, Heather Tojeira, Ines Tubau, Xavier Van Rooij, David Tyler, Paul A |
author_sort |
Pham, Christopher K |
title |
Marine litter distribution and density in European seas, from the shelves to deep basins |
title_short |
Marine litter distribution and density in European seas, from the shelves to deep basins |
title_full |
Marine litter distribution and density in European seas, from the shelves to deep basins |
title_fullStr |
Marine litter distribution and density in European seas, from the shelves to deep basins |
title_full_unstemmed |
Marine litter distribution and density in European seas, from the shelves to deep basins |
title_sort |
marine litter distribution and density in european seas, from the shelves to deep basins |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/5673978 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-5673978 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0095839 https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/5673978/file/5674056 |
geographic |
Mid-Atlantic Ridge |
geographic_facet |
Mid-Atlantic Ridge |
genre |
Northeast Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Northeast Atlantic |
op_source |
PLOS ONE ISSN: 1932-6203 |
op_relation |
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/5673978 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-5673978 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0095839 https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/5673978/file/5674056 |
op_rights |
No license (in copyright) info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0095839 |
container_title |
PLoS ONE |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
e95839 |
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1768371942270697472 |