Marine litter footprint in the Azores Islands: A climatological perspective

C Pieper; C Magalhães Loureiro; K L Law; L A Amaral-Zettler; V Quintino; A M Rodrigues; M A Ventura; A Martins

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143310

Marine litter footprint in the Azores Islands: A climatological perspective

Sci Total Environ. 2021 Mar 20:761:143310. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143310. Epub 2020 Nov 4.

Authors

C Pieper¹, C Magalhães Loureiro², K L Law³, L A Amaral-Zettler⁴, V Quintino⁵, A M Rodrigues⁶, M A Ventura⁷, A Martins⁸

Affiliations

¹ CIBIO InBIO & OKEANOS - Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources & Institute for Research in Marine Sciences, Department of Oceanography and Fisheries, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of the Azores, Rua Prof. Dr. Frederico Machado, 4, Horta, Azores 9901-862, Portugal. Electronic address: catharina.pieper@gmail.com.
² OKEANOS - Institute for Research in Marine Sciences, Department of Oceanography and Fisheries, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of the Azores, Rua Prof. Dr. Frederico Machado, 4, Horta, Azores 9901-862, Portugal. Electronic address: c.angela.m.loureiro@gmail.com.
³ SEA - Sea Education Association, P.O. Box 6, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA. Electronic address: klavender@sea.edu.
⁴ NIOZ, Utrecht University, University of Amsterdam, Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research & Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, Den Burg 1790 AB, The Netherlands; Department of Freshwater and Marine Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, PO Box 94240, Amsterdam 1090 GE, The Netherlands. Electronic address: linda.amaral-zettler@nioz.nl.
⁵ University of Aveiro - CESAM, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro 3810-193, Portugal. Electronic address: victor.quintino@ua.pt.
⁶ University of Aveiro - CESAM, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro 3810-193, Portugal. Electronic address: anarod@ua.pt.
⁷ CIBIO University of the Azores, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Department of Biology, Rua Mãe de Deus, 13A, Ponta Delgada 9500-321, Portugal. Electronic address: maria.am.ventura@uac.pt.
⁸ OKEANOS -University of the Azores, Department of Oceanography and Fisheries, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Rua Professor Doutor Frederico Machado, 4, Horta, Azores 9901-862, Portugal. Electronic address: ana.mp.martins@uac.pt.

PMID: 33183812
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143310

Abstract

Marine litter (ML) consists of any item of anthropogenic origin that has been lost, discarded or intentionally disposed of into the environment, being acknowledged as a worldwide environmental and ecological threat. In the last decade, there has been an attempt across different sectors to tackle, reduce and mitigate sources of litter. In this study, meso and macrodebris between 2 and 30 cm was recorded and classified in two established study areas (Porto Pim and Conceição beaches), throughout five monitoring years (2012-2018). The litter abundance, density and weighted average by abundance were evaluated in eight main categories: plastics, cloths/fabrics, glass, metals, rubber, processed lumber, other and large. Field surveys provided evidence that plastic represented 95% of all litter. ML abundance was treated as an "environmental variable" and used to determine its anomalies, temporal trends and forecasts. Results from this time-series addressed possible periodic oscillations and density peaks of litter. Reference values of ML presence were obtained and could potentially be used for developing a diagnostic tool for anthropogenic pollution in the Azores.

Keywords: Beach; Marine debris; Monitoring; Plastic; Time-series.