Using aerial photography and in situ measurements to estimate the quantity of macro-litter on beaches

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.     

Establishment of numerical beach-litter hindcast/forecast models: an application to Goto Islands, Japan

This study attempts to establish a system for hindcasting/forecasting the quantity of litter reaching a beach using an ocean circulation model, a two-way particle tracking model (PTM) to find litter sources, and an inverse method to compute litter outflows at each source. Twelve actual beach survey results, and satellite and forecasted wind data were also used. The quantity of beach litter was hindcasted/forecasted using a forward in-time PTM with the surface currents computed in the ocean circulation model driven by satellite-derived/forecasted wind data. Outflows obtained using the inverse method was given for each source in the model. The time series of the hindcasted/forecasted quantity of beach litter were found consistent with the quantity of beach litter determined from sequential webcam images of the actual beach. The accuracy of the model, however, is reduced drastically by intense winds such as typhoons which disturb drifting litter motion.     

Trends in marine debris along the U.S. Pacific Coast and Hawai'i 1998-2007

We assessed amounts, composition, and trends of marine debris for the U.S. Pacific Coast and Hawai'i using National Marine Debris Monitoring Program data. Hawai'i had the highest debris loads; the North Pacific Coast region had the lowest debris loads. The Southern California Bight region had the highest land-based debris loads. Debris loads decreased over time for all source categories in all regions except for land-based and general-source loads in the North Pacific Coast region, which were unchanged. General-source debris comprised 30-40% of the items in all regions. Larger local populations were associated with higher land-based debris loads across regions; the effect declined at higher population levels. Upwelling affected deposition of ocean-based and general-source debris loads but not land-based loads along the Pacific Coast. LNSO decreased debris loads for both land-based and ocean-based debris but not general-source debris in Hawai'i, a more complex climate-ocean effect than had previously been found.     

Modeling of marine litter drift and beaching in the Japan Sea

Characteristics of drift and beaching of floating marine litter in the Japan Sea are examined numerically using the reanalysis data of the Japan Sea Forecasting System of Kyushu University. The residence time of model marine litter deployed uniformly over the surface of the Japan Sea strongly depends on the buoyancy ratio. However, almost all litter beaches or flows out through straits within 3 years. Experiments with inputs of litter imposed at large cities and the Tsushima Straits as well as river basins of the Japan Sea exhibit a good agreement with beach surveys with regard to country ratios of beached litter along the Japanese coast in cases of lighters. In a case of lighter, almost all lighters originating from Japan beach along the Japanese coast, while almost all lighters originating from a country surrounding the Japan Sea except Japan beach along the coast of that country and the Japanese coast.     

Dissolved copper,zinc and cadmium in the Southern Bight of the North Sea

Concentrations of dissolved copper, zinc and cadmium have been measured in the Dutch and Belgian coastal and offshore regions of the Southern Bight (North Sea), with the aim to compare levels in the central, most saline part of the Bight with those in the coastal region that is under the influence of the rivers Rhine and Scheldt, as well as with those in open ocean surface waters.     

A decade of change in nets and plastic litter from fisheries off Alaska

Ten 1 km beaches on Amchitka Island, Alaska, were surveyed once annually in 1972–1974 and in 1982 to determine weights and numbers of fish-net fragments and other plastic litter items. Most litter was from Japanese and Soviet fishing vessels. Litter rapidly increased during 1972–74 (from 122 to 345 kg km^?1 of beach) but decreased 26% by 1982 to 255 kg km^?1. There was a 37% reduction in weight of trawl web on Amchitka beaches, and the number of gill-net floats declined 47%. The decrease in litter between 1974 and 1982, attributed to fewer trawlers and gill-netters fishing off Alaska, shows that marine litter could be rapidly reduced if disposal of litter at sea were restricted.     

Low altitude remote-sensing method to monitor marine and beach litter of various colors using a balloon equipped with a digital camera

This study aims to establish a low-altitude remote sensing system for surveying litter on a beach or the ocean using a remote-controlled digital camera suspended from a balloon filled with helium gas. The resultant images are processed to identify the litter using projective transformation method and color difference in the CIELUV color space. Low-altitude remote sensing experimental observations were conducted on two locations in Japan. Although the sizes of the litter and the areas covered are distorted in the original photographs taken at various angles and heights, the proposed image process system is capable of identifying object positions with a high degree of accuracy (1-3 m). Furthermore, the color difference approach in the CIELUV color space used in this study is well capable of extracting pixels of litter objects of various colors allowing us to estimate the number of objects from the photographs.     

Southern Ocean deglacial record supports global Younger Dryas

In Northern Hemisphere deglaciation records, the transition from the last glacial to the Holocene indicates a rapid return to near-glacial conditions during the Younger Dryas, whereas their Southern Hemisphere ice core counterparts record two separate cooling events: the Antarctic Cold Reversal and the Oceanic Cold Reversal. Spatial distribution and relative timing of these events in both hemispheres are central for our understanding of causes and mechanisms of abrupt climate change. To date, no marine record from the southern mid-latitudes conclusively demonstrates that the Younger Dryas was a significant event in the Southern Ocean. Here, we present high-resolution oxygen isotope and iron content records of a radiocarbon-dated sedimentary sequence from the Great Australian Bight, which constrains oceanic and atmospheric changes during the last deglaciation. Oxygen isotopes from planktonic foraminifera indicate two rapid cold reversals (between 13.1 and 11.1 kyr BP) separated by a brief warming. The sedimentary iron content, interpreted as a proxy for wind strength, indicates a simultaneous change in atmospheric circulation pattern. Both records demonstrate the existence of cooling events in the Southern Hemisphere, which are synchronous with the Northern Hemisphere Younger Dryas cold reversal (between 12.9 and 11.5 kyr BP). Such evidence for the spatial distribution and timing of abrupt climatic fluctuations is essential data for groundtruthing results derived from global climate models.     

Beach Litter Sampling Strategies: is there a ‘Best’ Method?

Ten methods for sampling beach litter were tested on 16 beaches located around the Firth of Forth, Scotland in order to ascertain the effectiveness of the various methods. Both fresh and/or accumulated litter were sampled. Some methods were more effective for recording gross amounts of litter. Maximum litter counts could be obtained by surveying the top boundary of the beach (e.g. vegetation line, retaining wall, rocks). Lowest amounts were obtained by surveying one five metre wide belt transect from the vegetation line to the shore. Some bias towards highlighting particular litter types was shown by specific methods. It was concluded that there were advantages and disadvantages for each method and that the aims of the study would in the end determine the method.     

A numerical study of island wakes in the Southern California Bight

With the existence of eight substantial islands in the Southern California Bight, the oceanic circulation is significantly affected by island wakes. In this paper a high-resolution numerical model (on a 1 km grid), forced by a high-resolution wind (2 km), is used to study the wakes. Island wakes arise due both to currents moving past islands and to wind wakes that force lee currents in response. A comparison between simulations with and without islands shows the surface enstrophy (i.e., area-integrated square of the vertical component of vorticity at the surface) decreases substantially when the islands in the oceanic model are removed, and the enstrophy decrease mainly takes place in the areas around the islands. Three cases of wake formation and evolution are analyzed for the Channel Islands, San Nicolas Island, and Santa Catalina Island. When flows squeeze through gaps between the Channel Islands, current shears arise, and the bottom drag makes a significant contribution to the vorticity generation. Downstream the vorticity rolls up into submesoscale eddies. When the California Current passes San Nicolas Island from the northwest, a relatively strong flow forms over the shelf break on the northeastern coast and gives rise to a locally large bottom stress that generates anticyclonic vorticity, while on the southwestern side, with an adverse flow pushing the main wake current away from the island, positive vorticity has been generated and a cyclonic eddy detaches into the wake. When the northward Southern California Countercurrent passes the irregular shape of Santa Catalina Island, cyclonic eddies form on the southeastern coast of the island, due primarily to lateral stress rather than bottom stress; they remain coherent as they detach and propagate downstream, and thus they are plausible candidates for the submesoscale “spirals on the sea” seen in many satellite images. Finally, the oceanic response to wind wakes is analyzed in a spin-up experiment with a time-invariant wind that exhibits strips of both positive and negative curl in the island lee. Corresponding vorticity strips in the ocean develop through the mechanism of Ekman pumping.     

Marine litter prediction by artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence techniques of neural network and fuzzy systems were applied as alternative methods to determine beach litter grading, based on litter surveys of the Antalya coastline (the Turkish Riviera). Litter measurements were categorized and assessed by artificial intelligence techniques, which lead to a new litter categorization system. The constructed neural network satisfactorily predicted the grading of the Antalya beaches and litter categories based on the number of litter items in the general litter category. It has been concluded that, neural networks could be used for high-speed predictions of litter items and beach grading, when the characteristics of the main litter category was determined by field studies. This can save on field effort when fast and reliable estimations of litter categories are required for management or research studies of beaches--especially those concerned with health and safety, and it has economic implications. The main advantages in using fuzzy systems are that they consider linguistic adjectival definitions, e.g. many/few, etc. As a result, additional information inherent in linguistic comments/refinements and judgments made during field studies can be incorporated in grading systems.     

Identification and characterization of lipolytic and proteolytic bacteria isolated from marine sediments

Lipolytic and proteolytic bacteria were isolated from sediments at two sampling stations in the New York Bight Apex and one sampling station each in Sandy Hook Bay and Great Bay, New Jersey. The stations in the Bight Apex and Sandy Hook Bay have received industrial wastes and sewage for several decades, while Great Bay has received little of such materials. Proteolytic counts were 2–4 times higher and lipolytic counts generally 4 times higher in the polluted areas. Of the isolates taken from casein and lipid plates, 76% were Gram-negative rods; 80% of the latter were identified as Vibrio and Pseudomonas. The vibrios comprised more than 60% of the isolates from Station 4 (Great Bay) and Station 1 (Bight Apex), and were tested for their ability to break down casein, lipid, starch, and chitin. From Station 1, 75% of the Vibrio were active in degrading one or more substrates in addition to the substrate of the initial isolation medium; from Station 4, 52% of the Vibrio were active.     

Litter burial and exhumation: spatial and temporal distribution on a cobble pocket beach.

A cobble beach (-6 diameter to -8 diameter) located on the South Wales coastline, UK, was studied over a three-month winter period to assess litter input levels. After total beach litter clearance, six surveys were conducted at consecutive spring tides which involved marking of previously unrecorded litter. The beach was soon inundated with debris, predominantly plastic beverage containers. Some marked litter was found to disappear from the beach surface, re-emerging weeks later which suggests that the potential for litter burial has been underestimated in litter research. Higher wave energies between surveys coincided with higher levels of previously unseen litter. These new inputs consisted of sea borne and exhumed litter. Items larger than the surrounding cobbles were found to work their way back to the surface of the beach after burial, smaller items remained buried. Pits dug into the cobble ridge confirmed the burial of mainly small items.     

Sequential monitoring of beach litter using webcams

This study attempts to establish a system for the sequential monitoring of beach litter using webcams placed at the Ookushi beach, Goto Islands, Japan, to establish the temporal variability in the quantities of beach litter every 90 min over a one and a half year period. The time series of the quantities of beach litter, computed by counting pixels with a greater lightness than a threshold value in photographs, shows that litter does not increase monotonically on the beach, but fluctuates mainly on a monthly time scale or less. To investigate what factors influence this variability, the time derivative of the quantity of beach litter is compared with satellite-derived wind speeds. It is found that the beach litter quantities vary largely with winds, but there may be other influencing factors.     

三维数值模拟研究俯冲区火山的时空活动性

俯冲板块的深部脱水使得上覆地幔含水, 从而降低含水地幔的熔点, 导致上覆地幔部分熔融。 部分熔融的地幔柱一旦喷发到地表就是俯冲带火山, 也形成新的地壳。 相对于周围的地幔来讲, 具有较小密度和黏度的部分熔融地幔的时空活动性就控制着俯冲带火山的时空分布特征。 本文主要回顾近年来运用三维热力学岩石力学模型数值模拟研究与板片脱水相关的俯冲带火山活动的时空分布特性。 结果表明, 部分熔融地幔的有效黏度和密度是影响俯冲板片之上的三维地幔柱横向分布特征的主要因素。 高黏度的部分熔融地幔(10²⁰~10²¹ Pa·s )易于形成近平行于海沟的、 长波长(70~100 km)的、 薄的波状地幔柱; 低黏度(10¹⁸~10¹⁹ Pa·s )的熔融地幔易于形成平行于海沟的, 短波长(30~50 km)的蘑菇状地幔柱和垂直于海沟的山脊状地幔柱。 当部分熔融地幔和周围地幔的密度相差小于50 kg/m³时, 在俯冲板片之上只能形成长波长低幅度(宽50~100 km, 高10~15 km)的地幔山丘。 岩浆产率随着时间的变化反映了火山活动的生命周期性。 板块俯冲速度会影响地幔柱形成的深度和范围大小。 高效率熔融提取会增加新地壳增长总量。 低的板块俯冲速度和低的熔融提取效率会增加上地壳(花岗岩质)和中地壳(英安岩质)化学成分的比例。 数值模拟结果可以很好地解释如日本东北、 新西兰、 南阿拉斯加俯冲区火山的横向分布特征。     

Reducing dissolved inorganic nitrogen in surface runoff water from sugarcane production systems

Nitrogen (N) lost from farms, especially as the highly bioavailable dissolved inorganic form, may be damaging Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR). As sugarcane is the dominant cropping system in GBR catchments, its N management practises are coming under increasing scrutiny. This study measured dissolved inorganic N lost in surface runoff water and sugarcane productivity over 3 years. The experiment compared the conventional fertiliser N application rate to sugarcane (average 180kg N/ha/year) and a rate based on replacing N exported in the previous crop (average 94kg N/ha/year). Dissolved inorganic N losses in surface water were 72%, 48% and 66% lower in the three monitored years in the reduced N fertiliser treatment. There was no significant difference in sugarcane yield between the two fertiliser N treatments, nor any treatment difference in soil mineral N - both of these results are indicators of the sustainability of the lower fertiliser N applications.     

Shore litter along sandy beaches of the Gulf of Oman

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.     

Summer sea surface temperature fronts and elevated chlorophyll-a in the entrance to Spencer Gulf,South Australia

Historical and recent oceanographic cruise data, MODIS chlorophyll-a satellite data, and an analytical model are used to examine SST fronts in the entrance to Spencer Gulf, South Australia. The fronts (2–3 °C) due to the contrast between warm Spencer Gulf waters and cooler waters of the continental shelf are readily observable on satellite imagery. Three water masses: cool, fresh upwelled shelf water; warm, salty Great Australian Bight water; and very warm and salty Spencer Gulf bottom water occupy the area. In consequence a summer density minimum is formed at the entrance to Spencer Gulf. The analytical model predicts that this thermohaline structure sets up an ageostrophic circulation, which favours upwelling in the central portion of the entrance. This is confirmed by the satellite data which show an increased chlorophyll-a concentration in the vicinity of the upwelling.     

Quantifying the environmental impacts of artisanal fishing gear on Kenya's coral reef ecosystems

The environmental impacts of artisanal fishing gear on coral reef ecosystems were studied in the multi-gear fishery of southern Kenya to evaluate which types of gear have the greatest impact on coral reef biodiversity. The gear types studied were large and small traps, gill nets, beach seines, hand lines and spear guns. Levels of coral damage, proportion of juvenile fish and discards, size and maturity stage at first capture were quantified and compared amongst the gear types. Results indicate that fishers using beach seines, spears and gill nets cause the most direct physical damage to corals. Spear fishers showed the highest number of contacts to live corals per unit catch followed by fishers using gill nets (12.6 ± 1.8 and 5.9 ± 2.0 coral contacts per kg fish caught per trip respectively). Apart from discarding 6.5% of their daily catch in the sea, as it was too small, beach seine fishers also landed the highest percentage of juvenile fish (68.4 ± 15.7%), a proportion significantly higher (p < 0.001) than in any other gear. The size and maturity stage at first capture for 150 of 195 species caught by all gear types was well below the lengths at which they mature. For example, 100% of Lethrinus xanthochilus, 99% of Lethrinus nebulosus and 94% of Lethrinus harak caught were juveniles. Across all gear types, 50.1 ± 22.7% of the catch consisted of juvenile fish, indicating serious growth overfishing. Field assessment of levels of coral density showed that fishing grounds where beach seines were still in use had a significantly lower density than where beach seining was not used. This correlation is likely to arise in part because seines cannot be used in the most coral rich areas, and in part because coral loss is a consequence of seine use. On a per gear basis therefore, beach seines had the most impact on coral reef biodiversity. This study emphasizes the need to enforce restrictions on destructive gear and mesh sizes.