Geosynthetic materials as a source of pollution of the marine environment by plastic debris

The marine pollution is rarely debated from the perspective of land-based sources of pollution under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This article centres not only on a land-based source of pollution of the sea, but also a very particular one – the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident. Apart from causing severe infrastructural damage and posing a radiation-related threat to the public, Fukushima has had a lasting impact on the marine environment, too. Especially,since the operator of the plant has so far been unsuccessful in completely eliminating the radioactive leakage into the seas. This article considers the actual impact of the accident on the marine life along with the relevant recovery and remediation measures aimed to limit said impact, all in the light of the provisions of UNCLOS. Especially, with regard to its problematic (rather underdeveloped) enforcement and sanctioning system which should be more balanced, considering the various contemporary sources of pollution of the seas. Notwithstanding, UNCLOS will most likely further strengthen international cooperation with the ultimate aim of preventing the pollution of the world’s oceans.

Download Full-text

Microplastics in sediments and fish from the Red Sea coast at Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)

Environmental Chemistry ◽

10.1071/en19113 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (8) ◽

pp. 641 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Sultan Al-Lihaibi ◽

Asmaa Al-Mehmadi ◽

Walied M. Alarif ◽

Nahed O. Bawakid ◽

Roland Kallenborn ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Red Sea ◽

Marine Environment ◽

Coastal Waters ◽

Background Information ◽

Ftir Analysis ◽

Plastic Debris ◽

Sediment Samples ◽

Local Species ◽

Red Sea Coast ◽

Sea Coast

Environmental contextMillions of tons of plastic debris are present in the marine environment. This study addresses the issue of microplastics in nearshore sediment and fish sampled from the Saudi coastal waters of the Red Sea. The results show that the sediments of all analysed stations contained microplastics, and microplastic particles were detected in almost half of the 140 sampled fish. AbstractThe amounts of microplastics in sediment samples obtained from four stations along the Jeddah coast were shown to range from not detected to 119particleskg−1 wet sediment. Four classes of microplastic particles in the sediment, that is, fragments, granules, foams and fibres, were characterised by fluorescence microscopy. Microplastics of various forms and sizes were also identified in 44% of the 140 sampled fish (6 local species) in amounts ranging from not detected to 30 microplastic particles per individual. Polyethylene terephthalate and vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymers were the dominant polymer types in the sediment samples identified by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis, while polystyrene, polyethylene and polyester were the dominant polymer types detected in fish. FTIR analysis showed that the most detected fibres were made of polyester. The results of this study emphasise that microplastic pollution represents an emerging threat to the marine environment of the Red Sea. The results of this study provide useful background information for further investigations and provide an accurate overview of the microplastics distribution in the marine environment of the Saudi Red Sea.

Download Full-text

FTIR spectroscopy supported by statistical techniques for the structural characterization of plastic debris in the marine environment: Application to monitoring studies

Marine Pollution Bulletin ◽

10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.03.012 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 106 (1-2) ◽

pp. 155-161 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

Mauro Mecozzi ◽

Marco Pietroletti ◽

Yulia B. Monakhova

Keyword(s):

Ftir Spectroscopy ◽

Marine Environment ◽

Structural Characterization ◽

Statistical Techniques ◽

Plastic Debris

Download Full-text

The Ecotoxicological Effects of Microplastics on Primary Producers in the Marine Environment

Journal of Fisheries Science ◽

10.30564/jfsr.v2i2.1906 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Mahibul Islam ◽

Mahmudul Hasan ◽

Bhaskar Chandra Majudmar ◽

Sulav Indra Paul

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Marine Environment ◽

Scientific Evidence ◽

Marine Ecosystem ◽

Complex Structure ◽

Primary Producers ◽

Huge Amount ◽

Plastic Debris ◽

Seagrass Meadows ◽

Ecotoxicological Effect

Plastic debris is an emerging environmental threat all over the world. But its effect and distribution in the marine ecosystem is barely known. Microplastics abundance in the marine vegetated area is about 2 to 3 times higher than the bare site in the ocean. Although seagrass meadows trap huge amount of microplastics over the ocean floor, a considerable amount of microplastics are also sink incorporating with the marine aggregates from the epipelagic zone of the ocean. Scavenging of microplastics by diatom aggregation decreases the sinking rate of them rather than cryptophyte. As we know, marine snow is the leading carbon source for zoobenthos, but the ubiquitous presence of microplastics damages cell of different microalgae which may alter the food webs of marine ecosystems. Additionally, microplastics releases immense amount of dissolved organic carbons (DOC) in the surrounding seawater that stimulates the growth of heterotrophic microorganisms as well as their functional activity. Plastic debris result in outbreaks of disease in the marine environment and coral reefs are highly affected by it. When coral reef comes in contact with microplastics, the disease infestation rate of the reef increases massively. Three major disease viz., skeletal eroding band, white syndrome and black band of coral reef causes approximately 46% of reef mortality due to microplastics consumption. Due to complex structure and size, the corals accumulates huge amount of microplastics that increases growth of pathogens by hampering the coral immune system. Existing scientific evidence presents that exposure of microplastics in aquatic environments triggers a wide variety of toxic insult from feeding disruption to reproductive performance, disturbances in energy metabolism throughout the ocean. The present review focused on the ecotoxicological effect of microplastics on primary producers of ocean, its uptake, accumulation, and excretion, and its probable toxicity with risk assessment approaches.

Download Full-text

The Complex Mixture, Fate and Toxicity of Chemicals Associated with Plastic Debris in the Marine Environment

Marine Anthropogenic Litter ◽

10.1007/978-3-319-16510-3_5 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 117-140 ◽

Cited By ~ 67

Author(s):

Chelsea M. Rochman

Keyword(s):

Marine Environment ◽

Complex Mixture ◽

Plastic Debris

Download Full-text

Plastic Debris in the Marine Environment: History and Future Challenges

Global Challenges ◽

10.1002/gch2.201900081 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (6) ◽

pp. 1900081 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Imogen Ellen Napper ◽

Richard C. Thompson

Keyword(s):

Marine Environment ◽

Plastic Debris ◽

Future Challenges

Download Full-text

Quantifying Marine Plastic Debris in a Beach Environment Using Spectral Analysis

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13224548 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (22) ◽

pp. 4548

Author(s):

Jenna A. Guffogg ◽

Samantha M. Blades ◽

Mariela Soto-Berelov ◽

Chris J. Bellman ◽

Andrew K. Skidmore ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Marine Environment ◽

Spectral Feature ◽

Detection Methods ◽

Surface Layers ◽

Plastic Debris ◽

Surface Cover ◽

Sandy Substrate ◽

Beach Litter ◽

The Impact ◽

Marine Plastic Debris

Marine plastic debris (MPD) is a globally relevant environmental challenge, with an estimated 8 million tons of synthetic debris entering the marine environment each year. Plastic has been found in all parts of the marine environment, including the surface layers of the ocean, within the water column, in coastal waters, on the benthic layer and on beaches. While research on detecting MPD using remote sensing is increasing, most of it focuses on detecting floating debris in open waters, rather than detecting MPD on beaches. However, beaches present challenges that are unique from other parts of the marine environment. In order to better understand the spectral properties of beached MPD, we present the SWIR reflectance of weathered MPD and virgin plastics over a sandy substrate. We conducted spectral feature analysis on the different plastic groups to better understand the impact that polymers have on our ability to detect synthetic debris at sub-pixel surface covers that occur on beaches. Our results show that the minimum surface cover required to detect MPD on a sandy surface varies between 2–8% for different polymer types. Furthermore, plastic composition affects the magnitude of spectral absorption. This suggests that variation in both surface cover and polymer type will inform the efficacy of beach litter detection methods.

Download Full-text