What can beach litter tell about local management: A comparison of five pocket beaches of the North Sardinia island (Italy)

Citizen science programs and tracking applications have been used in the collection of data on plastic debris in marine environments to determine its composition and sources. These programs, however, are mostly focused on debris collected from beach cleanups and coastal environments. Large plastic debris currently afloat at sea, which is a significant contributor to marine plastic pollution and a major source of beach litter, is less well-characterized.Transported by currents, wind and waves, positively buoyant plastic objects eventually accumulate at the sea surface of subtropical oceanic gyres, forming the so-called ocean garbage patches. It is important to know where the debris that persists in the offshore gyres is entering the ocean, where it is produced and what practices (commercial, cultural, industrial) are contributing to the accumulation of these debris into the ocean garbage patches. This information coupled to data on how long and well the plastics persevere at the sea surface is necessary for creating effective and efficient mitigation strategies.Here we provide a comprehensive assessment of plastic debris afloat in the North Pacific Garbage Patch (NPGP). Offshore debris collected by The Ocean Cleanup&#8217;s System 001b from the NPGP in 2019 was analyzed using the Litter-ID method, which applies an adapted and expended version of the OSPAR guideline for monitoring beach litter. Our results reveal new insights into the composition, origin and age of plastic debris accumulating at the ocean surface in the NPGP. The standardized methodology applied here further enables a first thorough comparison of plastic debris accumulating in offshore waters and coastal environments.

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Marine Litter Drift Monitoring (Forecast and Hindcast) in the Channel and the North Atlantic

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-13029 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Anne Vallette ◽

Fatimatou Coulibaly ◽

Stephen Emsley

Keyword(s):

Hydrological Cycle ◽

Quality Analysis ◽

Ocean Current ◽

Rip Currents ◽

Marine Litter ◽

North West ◽

The North ◽

Drift Model ◽

Run Off ◽

Beach Litter

Meteorological events, such as storms and/or gale force winds, act as triggers to influx of macro litter into the hydrological cycle via run off from land into rivers. These rivers discharge into the sea and the marine litter is then transported through the region by currents and wind either becoming entrained in the sea, possibly sinking and/or disintegrating into micro marine litter or ending up being stranded at the coast then washed back ashore or flown on to the land. Thanks to a Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) grant, ARGANS Ltd has developed a web-based service, called Litter-TEP, that aims to track marine litter from the source. It uses a parametric model of riverine macro litter discharge, to seed drift models of the NE Atlantic Shelf Region (OSPAR II/III), providing to end-users a 5-day running forecast of macro-litter density in the sea, potential beach stranding at the coast and, inversely, where a beach litter event is identified to provide the likelihood of where the litter entered the sea. In order to determine drift trajectories, we use ocean current, wave and wind forecasts from Copernicus Marine Service high quality analysis and forecast products for the European North West Shelf seas. The main issues which have been identified, and for which we perform additional R&D, are the following: a) source&#8217;s modelling and estimation of volume of litter introduced to the sea, b) litter&#8217;s types for which the drift model should be adapted, and c) the spatial resolution of models in the littoral area (nearshore) vs. offshore. In fact, for the beaching & refloating models, we need of a bathymetry at the scale of 1/3000 and a coastal cartography at 1/1000 to obtain the beach profile, then calculate the runoff on the beach, the rip currents, etc. The next enhancement, driven by users&#8217; requirements, is to improve the land discharge model vide collection of litter seeings with citizen crowdsourcing apps, and records of beach litter surveys, and beach cleaning campaigns. Another improvement, in the mid-term, targets the discharge models, using refined hydrologic schemes for the watersheds, and better estimates of habitats (rural, urban, industrial, &#8230;). &#160;ARGANS Ltd service is the next-generation tool for planning beach cleaning and helping local authorities to track back the trash to their sources, leading the fight against litter pollution and for improvement of the river water quality.&#160;

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Investor-State Dispute Settlement under NAFTA Chapter 11: The Shape of Things to Come?

Canadian Yearbook of international Law/Annuaire canadien de droit international ◽

10.1017/s0069005800006652 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 35 ◽

pp. 263-290

Author(s):

J. Anthony VanDuzer

Keyword(s):

Free Trade Agreement ◽

Dispute Settlement ◽

Trade Agreement ◽

Minimum Standards ◽

The North ◽

State Behaviour ◽

Nafta Chapter 11 ◽

To Come ◽

The Right

SummaryRecently, there has been a proliferation of international agreements imposing minimum standards on states in respect of their treatment of foreign investors and allowing investors to initiate dispute settlement proceedings where a state violates these standards. Of greatest significance to Canada is Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which provides both standards for state behaviour and the right to initiate binding arbitration. Since 1996, four cases have been brought under Chapter 11. This note describes the Chapter 11 process and suggests some of the issues that may arise as it is increasingly resorted to by investors.

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Long-term Cyclic Variations of Prominences, Green and Red Coronae over Solar Cycles

International Astronomical Union Colloquium ◽

10.1017/s0252921100064496 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 179 ◽

pp. 201-204

Author(s):

Vojtech Rušin ◽

Milan Minarovjech ◽

Milan Rybanský

Keyword(s):

Emission Lines ◽

High Latitudes ◽

Green Line ◽

Solar Cycles ◽

The South ◽

Coronal Emission ◽

Local Maxima ◽

The North ◽

Cyclic Variations

AbstractLong-term cyclic variations in the distribution of prominences and intensities of green (530.3 nm) and red (637.4 nm) coronal emission lines over solar cycles 18–23 are presented. Polar prominence branches will reach the poles at different epochs in cycle 23: the north branch at the beginning in 2002 and the south branch a year later (2003), respectively. The local maxima of intensities in the green line show both poleward- and equatorward-migrating branches. The poleward branches will reach the poles around cycle maxima like prominences, while the equatorward branches show a duration of 18 years and will end in cycle minima (2007). The red corona shows mostly equatorward branches. The possibility that these branches begin to develop at high latitudes in the preceding cycles cannot be excluded.

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Bembicosoma re-examined: a xiphosuran from the Silurian of the North Esk Inlier, Pentland Hills, Scotland

Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Earth Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0263593303000129 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 94 (03) ◽

pp. 199

Keyword(s):

The North

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An ultrastructural study of sertoli cells in two geographically isolated populations of Aphanius dispar

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100123143 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 548-549

Author(s):

Taber A. Ba-Omar ◽

Philip F. Prentis

Keyword(s):

Ultrastructural Level ◽

Uranyl Acetate ◽

Freshwater Teleost ◽

Isolated Populations ◽

En Bloc ◽

The North ◽

Group A ◽

Ultrathin Sections ◽

Group B ◽

Geographically Isolated

We have recently carried out a study of spermiogenic differentiation in two geographically isolated populations of Aphanius dispar (freshwater teleost), with a view to ascertaining variation at the ultrastructural level. The sampling areas were the Jebel Al Akhdar in the north (Group A) and the Dhofar region (Group B) in the south. Specimens from each group were collected, the testes removed, fixed in Karnovsky solution, post fixed in OsO, en bloc stained with uranyl acetate and then routinely processed to Agar 100 resin, semi and ultrathin sections were prepared for study.

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SEM and TEM observations of sperm development in the testis of the freshwater fish Oreochromis mossambicus

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100157838 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 48 (3) ◽

pp. 58-59

Author(s):

Daryl A. Cornish ◽

George L. Smit

Keyword(s):

Morphological Characteristics ◽

Oreochromis Mossambicus ◽

Breeding Cycle ◽

Limited Information ◽

North West ◽

The North ◽

Sem And Tem ◽

Sperm Development ◽

Ultrastructural Characteristics ◽

The University

Oreochromis mossambicus is currently receiving much attention as a candidater species for aquaculture programs within Southern Africa. This has stimulated interest in its breeding cycle as well as the morphological characteristics of the gonads. Limited information is available on SEM and TEM observations of the male gonads. It is known that the testis of O. mossambicus is a paired, intra-abdominal structure of the lobular type, although further details of its characteristics are not known. Current investigations have shown that spermatids reach full maturity some two months after the female becomes gravid. Throughout the year, the testes contain spermatids at various stages of development although spermiogenesis appears to be maximal during November when spawning occurs. This paper describes the morphological and ultrastructural characteristics of the testes and spermatids.Specimens of this fish were collected at Syferkuil Dam, 8 km north- west of the University of the North over a twelve month period, sacrificed and the testes excised.

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