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1.
Plastic debris is accumulating on the beaches of Kauai at an alarming rate, averaging 484 pieces/day in one locality. Particles sampled were analyzed to determine the effects of mechanical and chemical processes on the breakdown of polymers in a subtropical setting. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicates that plastic surfaces contain fractures, horizontal notches, flakes, pits, grooves, and vermiculate textures. The mechanically produced textures provide ideal loci for chemical weathering to occur which further weakens the polymer surface leading to embrittlement. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results show that some particles have highly oxidized surfaces as indicated by intense peaks in the lower wavenumber region of the spectra. Our textural analyses suggest that polyethylene has the potential to degrade more readily than polypropylene. Further evaluation of plastic degradation in the natural environment may lead to a shift away from the production and use of plastic materials with longer residence times.  相似文献   

2.
Small-plastic beach debris from nine coastal locations throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago was analyzed. At each beach, replicate 20 l samples of sediment were collected, sieved for debris between 1 and 15 mm in size, sorted by type, counted and weighed. Small-plastic debris occurred on all of the beaches, but the greatest quantity was found at three of the most remote beaches on Midway Atoll and Moloka'i. Of the debris analyzed, 72% by weight was plastic. A total of 19100 pieces of plastic were collected from the nine beaches, 11% of which was pre-production plastic pellets. This study documents for the first time the presence of small-plastic debris on Hawaiian beaches and corroborates estimates of the abundance of plastics in the marine environment in the North Pacific.  相似文献   

3.
Many studies have quantified debris collected on beaches around the world. Only a few of those studies have been conducted in the United States, and they are largely limited to semi-quantitative efforts performed as part of volunteer clean-up activities. This study quantifies the distribution and composition of beach debris by sampling 43 stratified random sites on the Orange County, California coast, from August to September 1998. We estimated that approximately 106 million items, weighing 12 metric tons, occur on Orange County beaches. The most abundant items were pre-production plastic pellets, foamed plastics, and hard plastics. Debris density on the remote rocky shoreline was greater than that on high-use sandy beaches for most debris items. This finding partially reflects the periodic clean-up of high-use beaches by local municipalities, and also indicates that a high percentage of the observed debris was transported to the site from waterborne sources.  相似文献   

4.
Beach debris abundance and weight were estimated from surveys on 11 beaches of the Gulf of Oman along the Omani coast. Debris were collected on two occasions from 100 m transects, sorted and categorized by origin and type. Overall contaminations ranged from 0.43 to 6.01 items m(-1) of beach front on different beaches with a mean value of 1.79+/-1.04 gm(-1) (95% C.I). In terms of weight, contamination levels ranged from 7.8 to 75.44 gm(-1) of beach front with a mean contamination of 27.02+/-14.48 gm(-1) (95% C.I). In terms of numbers of items, plastic debris ranked first on all beaches followed by either wood items or other organic materials such as cigarette butts. Industrial debris remained few on all beaches (<10%). Most debris had a local origin and, in terms of numbers, were associated with beach recreational activities whereas fishing debris represented the largest proportion of the debris in terms of weight. There were notable differences between beaches in the relative abundance of recreation-related and fishing-related debris.  相似文献   

5.
This study has demonstrated a reliable method of quantifying the total mass of litter on a beach. It was conducted on Ookushi beach, Goto-Islands, Japan, and uses a combination of balloon-assisted aerial photography and in situ mass measurements. The total mass of litter over the beach was calculated to be 716 ± 259 kg. This figure was derived by multiplying the litter-covered area (calculated using balloon-assisted aerial photography) by the mass of litter per unit area. Light plastics such as polyethylene made up 55% of all plastic litter on the beach, although more work is needed to determine whether lighter plastics are transported to beaches more readily by winds and ocean currents compared with heavier plastics, or whether lighter plastics comprise a greater percentage of marine litter. Finally, the above estimates were used to calculate the total mass of metals released into coastal ecosystems via plastic litter on beaches.  相似文献   

6.
Plastic litter accounts for 50-80% of waste items stranded on beaches, floating on the ocean surface and lodged in the seabed. Organic pollutants can be absorbed onto plastic particles from sea water, attached to their surfaces or included in the plastic matrix as additives. Such chemicals may be transported to remote regions by buoyant plastics and ocean currents. We have estimated mass fluxes of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) to the Arctic via the main ocean currents and compared them to those in the dissolved state and in air. Substance fluxes with atmospheric or sea water currents account for several tons per year, whereas those mediated by plastics are four to six orders of magnitude smaller. However, the significance of various pollutant transport routes does not depend only on absolute mass fluxes but also on bioaccumulation in marine food chains.  相似文献   

7.
Assessment of marine debris on the Belgian Continental Shelf   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  
A comprehensive assessment of marine litter in three environmental compartments of Belgian coastal waters was performed. Abundance, weight and composition of marine debris, including microplastics, was assessed by performing beach, sea surface and seafloor monitoring campaigns during two consecutive years. Plastic items were the dominant type of macrodebris recorded: over 95% of debris present in the three sampled marine compartments were plastic. In general, concentrations of macrodebris were quite high. Especially the number of beached debris reached very high levels: on average 6429 ± 6767 items per 100 m were recorded. Microplastic concentrations were determined to assess overall abundance in the different marine compartments of the Belgian Continental Shelf. In terms of weight, macrodebris still dominates the pollution of beaches, but in the water column and in the seafloor microplastics appear to be of higher importance: here, microplastic weight is approximately 100 times and 400 times higher, respectively, than macrodebris weight.  相似文献   

8.
Plastic debris has become ubiquitous in the marine environment and seabirds may ingest debris which can have deleterious effects on their health. In the North Atlantic Ocean, surface feeding seabirds typically ingest high levels of plastic, while the diving auks which feed in the water column typically have much lower levels. We examined 186 thick-billed murres from five colonies in the eastern Canadian Arctic for ingested plastic debris. Approximately 11% of the birds had at least one piece of plastic debris in their gastrointestinal tracts, with debris dominated by user plastics. This is the first report of ingested plastics in an auk species in Canada’s Arctic, and the highest incidence of plastic ingestion to date for thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia).  相似文献   

9.
We have developed a technique for detecting the pixels of colored macro plastic debris (plastic pixels) using photographs taken by a webcam installed on Sodenohama beach, Tobishima Island, Japan. The technique involves generating color references using a uniform color space (CIELUV) to detect plastic pixels and removing misdetected pixels by applying a composite image method. This technique demonstrated superior performance in terms of detecting plastic pixels of various colors compared to the previous method which used the lightness values in the CIELUV color space. We also obtained a 10-month time series of the quantity of plastic debris by combining a projective transformation with this technique. By sequential monitoring of plastic debris quantity using webcams, it is possible to clean up beaches systematically, to clarify the transportation processes of plastic debris in oceans and coastal seas and to estimate accumulation rates on beaches.  相似文献   

10.
This study reports the first inventory of physical properties of individual plastic debris in the North Atlantic. We analyzed 748 samples for size, mass, and material composition collected from surface net tows on 11 expeditions from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to the Caribbean Sea between 1991 and 2007. Particles were mostly fragments less than 10 mm in size with nearly all lighter than 0.05 g. Material densities ranged from 0.808 to 1.24 g ml−1, with about half between 0.97 and 1.04 g ml−1, a range not typically found in virgin plastics. Elemental analysis suggests that samples in this density range are consistent with polypropylene and polyethylene whose densities have increased, likely due to biofouling. Pelagic densities varied considerably from that of beach plastic debris, suggesting that plastic particles are modified during their residence at sea. These analyses provide clues in understanding particle fate and potential debris sources, and address ecological implications of pelagic plastic debris.  相似文献   

11.
《Marine pollution bulletin》2013,76(1-2):305-309
Plastic marine debris is presently widely recognised as an important environmental pollutant. Such debris is reported in every habitat of the oceans, from urban tourist beaches to remote islands and from the ocean surface to submarine canyons, and is found buried and deposited on sandy and cobble beaches. Plastic marine debris varies from micrometres to several metres in length and is potentially ingested by animals of every level of the marine food web. Here, we show that synthetic polymers are present in subsurface plankton samples around Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago in the Equatorial Atlantic Ocean. To explain the distribution of microplastics around the Archipelago, we proposed a generalised linear model (GLM) that suggests the existence of an outward gradient of mean plastic-particle densities. Plastic items can be autochthonous or transported over large oceanic distances. One probable source is the small but persistent fishing fleet using the area.  相似文献   

12.
The drivers (social) and pressures (physical) of marine debris have typically been examined separately. We redress this by using social and beach surveys at nine Tasmanian beaches, across three coastlines and within three categories of urbanisation, to examine whether people acknowledge that their actions contribute to the issue of marine debris, and whether these social drivers are reflected in the amount of marine debris detected on beaches. A large proportion (75%) of survey participants do not litter at beaches; with age, gender, income and residency influencing littering behaviour. Thus, participants recognise that littering at beaches is a problem. This social trend was reflected in the small amounts of debris that were detected. Furthermore, the amount of debris was not statistically influenced by the degree of beach urbanisation, the coastline sampled, or the proximity to beach access points. By linking social and physical aspects of this issue, management outcomes can be improved.  相似文献   

13.
Anthropogenic marine debris (AMD) is an ubiquitous problem, which has motivated public participation in activities such as beach surveys and clean-up campaigns. While it is known that beaches in the SE Pacific are also affected by this problem, the quantities and types of AMD remain largely unknown. In the context of an outreach project, volunteers (1500 high-school students) participated in a nation-wide survey of AMD on 43 beaches distributed randomly along the entire Chilean coast (18°S to 53°S). The mean density of AMD was 1.8 items m−2 and the major types were plastics, cigarette butts and glass. Densities in central Chile were lower than in northern and southern Chile, which could be due to different attitudes of beach users or to intense beach cleaning in central regions. We suggest that public participation in surveys and cleaning activities will raise awareness and thereby contribute to an improvement of the situation.  相似文献   

14.
Plastic debris is known to undergo fragmentation at sea, which leads to the formation of microscopic particles of plastic; the so called ‘microplastics’. Due to their buoyant and persistent properties, these microplastics have the potential to become widely dispersed in the marine environment through hydrodynamic processes and ocean currents. In this study, the occurrence and distribution of microplastics was investigated in Belgian marine sediments from different locations (coastal harbours, beaches and sublittoral areas).Particles were found in large numbers in all samples, showing the wide distribution of microplastics in Belgian coastal waters. The highest concentrations were found in the harbours where total microplastic concentrations of up to 390 particles kg−1 dry sediment were observed, which is 15-50 times higher than reported maximum concentrations of other, similar study areas.The depth profile of sediment cores suggested that microplastic concentrations on the beaches reflect the global plastic production increase.  相似文献   

15.
Six plastic/rubber materials commonly encountered in marine debris and beach litter were studied under Biscayne Bay (Florida, USA) exposure conditions to determine the effect of fouling on buoyancy. Studies under restricted floating, and restricted submerged exposure conditions suggest that most plastic samples undergo fouling to an extent to cause the sample to be negatively buoyant in sea water. Rapid defouling of the submerged fouled samples was observed. The findings suggest that free-floating plastics at sea may, under certain conditions, undergo fouling-induced sinking followed by resurfacing as floating debris.  相似文献   

16.
Spatio-temporal cross-shore profiles and textural characteristics are the key parameters for understanding dynamics of the inter-tidal sedimentary environment.This study describes short-term dynamics of the inter-tidal sedimentary environment at beaches along the micro-tidal coast.Further a correlation is estimated in cross-shore morphodynamics and textural characteristics of surface sediments.The sedimentary environment is examined for a complete annual cycle using monthly collected cross-shore profiles and sediment samples.The Devbag beach（northern side） and Ravindranath Tagore beach（southern side） at the Kali river mouth,Karwar,west coast of India are characterized from extremely gentle to average slope,and broadly composed of unimodal sands.The sedimentary environment is significantly composed of textures having fine to medium sand,well to moderately sorted,fine to coarse skewed,and platykurtic to leptokurtic in nature.During the annual cycle a reversal pattern is observed between the two adjacent beaches,where a slower rate of sediment accretion is observed at Devbag beach while Ravindranath Tagore beach exhibited erosion.The beach dynamics along with the propagation of south-west（SW） and south-west-west（SWW） waves towards the coast significantly exhibit a dominance of northward sediment transport with the existence of a northerly alongshore current.In addition,the study reveals that an eroded beach may not be significantly identified composed of coarse grains.The poor correlation in morpho-sedimentary characteristics reveals the prediction of grain characteristics based on beach profile and vice-versa is unrealistic.  相似文献   

17.
Plastic particles were found to be common pollutants in stomachs of Wilson's Storm Petrels and Cape Petrels breeding on the Antarctic continent. Highest incidence of plastics was found in chicks of Wilson's Storm Petrels that had died before fledging. Few or no plastics were found in Snow Petrels and Antarctic Petrels. Evidence suggests that most plastics originate from wintering areas outside the Antarctic, and that relatively few plastics are available in Antarctic waters. Possible hazards of plastic levels observed in Wilson's Storm Petrels are discussed.  相似文献   

18.
We investigated the plastics ingested by short-tailed shearwaters, Puffinus tenuirostris, that were accidentally caught during experimental fishing in the North Pacific Ocean in 2003 and 2005. The mean mass of plastics found in the stomach was 0.23 g per bird (n = 99). Plastic mass did not correlate with body weight. Total PCB (sum of 24 congeners) concentrations in the abdominal adipose tissue of 12 birds ranged from 45 to 529 ng/g-lipid. Although total PCBs or higher-chlorinated congeners, the mass of ingested plastic correlated positively with concentrations of lower-chlorinated congeners. The effects of toxic chemicals present in plastic debris on bird physiology should be investigated.  相似文献   

19.
There is considerable concern about the hazards that plastic debris presents to wildlife. Use of polymers that degrade more quickly than conventional plastics presents a possible solution to this problem. Here we investigate breakdown of two oxo-biodegradable plastics, compostable plastic and standard polyethylene in the marine environment. Tensile strength of all materials decreased during exposure, but at different rates. Compostable plastic disappeared from our test rig between 16 and 24 weeks whereas approximately 98% of the other plastics remained after 40 weeks. Some plastics require UV light to degrade. Transmittance of UV through oxo-biodegradable and standard polyethylene decreased as a consequence of fouling such that these materials received ～ 90% less UV light after 40 weeks. Our data indicate that compostable plastics may degrade relatively quickly compared to oxo-biodegradable and conventional plastics. While degradable polymers offer waste management solutions, there are limitations to their effectiveness in reducing hazards associated with plastic debris.  相似文献   

20.
We investigated the physical properties of beaches contaminated with plastic fragments. We compared sediment cores from Hawai‘i Island’s Kamilo Beach, notable for plastic accumulation, to cores from a nearby beach. Compared to the nearby beach, Kamilo sediments contained more plastics (up to 30.2% by weight), were coarser-grained, and were more permeable (t-test, p < 0.0001). 85% of the fragments were polyethylene, and 95% were concentrated in the top 15 cm of the cores. We constructed artificial cores of standardized grain size and varying plastic-to-sediment ratios. Adding plastic significantly increased the permeability (ANOVA, p = 0.002), which was partially attributed to the fragments increasing the mean grain size. Sediments with plastic warmed more slowly (16% maximum decrease in thermal diffusivity), and reached lower maximum temperatures (21% maximum increase in heat capacity). These changes have a variety of potential effects on beach organisms, including those with temperature-dependent sex-determination such as sea turtle eggs.  相似文献   

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