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Abstract

Various programs and organizations (IMO, UNEP, IOC UNESCO, FAO) and recently the EU MSFD recognized marine litter (ML) as an issue of global threat from environmental, economic, human health and safety, and aesthetic aspect. Among the efforts to combat the problem adequate monitoring and application of harmonized methodological approaches for quantification are essential. This research presents the results of a pilot assessment of bottom ML in the Black Sea during the MISIS Project Joint Black Sea Cruise (22-31 August, 2013) along 3 transects in the NW Black Sea. The aim of the present study is a pilot quantitative assessment of bottom.

The Fate of Marine Litter in Semi-Enclosed Seas: A Case Study of the Black Sea

“…The decrease in concentration from coastal areas to the open ocean also supports the results of Experiment 2. As Moncheva et al (2016) stated, coastward along the 40 m isobath, the abundance of ML was generally much higher than on the continental shelf (see also Figure 4E).…”

“…These surveys also identified a predominance of artificial polymer materials with densities ranging from 0.0587 ± 0.005 to 0.1343 ± 0.008 items m −2 . The pilot quantitative assessment of ML on the bottom performed by Moncheva et al (2016) demonstrated that (1) plastic was the most common debris material found in their area of study, which was very much in line with global findings, as well as with the results of Simeonova et al (2017), and (2) the abundance and distribution of ML showed considerable spatial variability. Understanding these phenomena calls for an in-depth examination of the methodologies for collection, classification and quantification of litter.…”

“…Furthermore, one could expect that numerical modeling will provide theoretical evidence to be used to support or guide appropriate observations and comparisons between observations and modeling. Moncheva et al (2016) demonstrated that the average ML quantity in the northwestern Black Sea was an order of magnitude higher than the amounts observed in the western Black Sea. Furthermore, the ML distribution was characterized by considerable spatial variability.…”

“…Marine litter (ML) pollution has been observed in the Black Sea in the recent decade: on beaches (Topçu et al, 2013;Simeonova et al, 2017;Terzi and Seyhan, 2017); on the seafloor (Topçu and Oztürk, 2010;Moncheva et al, 2016;Bat et al, 2017;Öztekin and Bat, 2017); and on the sea surface (Suaria et al, 2015). Plastic objects account for a large part of the litter on various beaches in the Black Sea (Topçu et al, 2013;Simeonova et al, 2017).…”

“…Understanding these phenomena calls for an in-depth examination of the methodologies for collection, classification and quantification of litter. It is stated Moncheva et al (2016) that "a meaningful estimation of ML distribution and density could be achieved only in the context of a broader regional management framework ensuring a large-scale integrated monitoring across countries and environments (beaches, water column and sea floor) complemented by adequate understanding of the hydrodynamic features." In this context, the identification of the main pollution sources is of prime importance.…”