A comparative study of marine litter on the seafloor of coastal areas in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Seas
| Type | Article | ||||||||||||
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| Date | 2014-12 | ||||||||||||
| Language | English | ||||||||||||
| Author(s) | Ioakeimidis C.1, 2, Zeri C.1, Kaberi H.1, Galatchi M.3, Antoniadis K.4, Streftaris N.1, Galgani Francois 5, Papathanassiou E.1, Papatheodorou G.2 |
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| Affiliation(s) | 1 : Hellen Ctr Marine Res, Inst Oceanog, Anavyssos 19013, Greece. 2 : Univ Patras, Dept Geol, Lab Marine Geol & Phys Oceanog, Patras 26500, Greece. 3 : Natl Inst Marine Res & Dev Grigore Antipa Constan, RO-900581 Constanta, Romania. 4 : Dept Fisheries & Marine Res, Marine Environm Div, CY-1416 Nicosia, Cyprus. 5 : Inst Francais Rech Exploitat Mer, LER PAC Corse, F-20600 Bastia, France. |
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| Source | Marine Pollution Bulletin (0025-326X) (Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd), 2014-12 , Vol. 89 , N. 1-2 , P. 296-304 | ||||||||||||
| DOI | 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.09.044 | ||||||||||||
| WOS© Times Cited | 105 | ||||||||||||
| Keyword(s) | Litter, Benthic, Pollution, Eastern Mediterranean, Black Sea | ||||||||||||
| Abstract | In the present work, abundance, spatial distribution and qualitative composition, of benthic marine litter, were investigated in five study areas from the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Seas (Saronikos, Patras and Echinades Gulfs; Limassol Gulf; Constanta Bay). Surveys were performed using the monitoring protocol proposed by the Technical Group for Marine Litter. Densities ranged from 24 items/km(2) to 1211 items/km(2), with the Saronikos Gulf being the most affected area. Plastics were predominant in all study areas ranging from 45.2% to 95%. Metals and Glass/Ceramics reached maximum values of 21.9% and of 22.4%. The size distribution of litter items showed that >= 50% fall into medium size categories (10 x 10 cm, 20 x 20 cm) along with an elevated percentage of small-sized (<5 x 5 cm) plastic litter items. The comparative analysis of the data highlighted the dependence of the marine litter problem on many local factors (human sources and oceanographic conditions) and the urgent need for specific actions. | ||||||||||||
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