Converting beach wrack into a resource as a challenge for the Baltic Sea (an overview)

Chubarenko, Boris; Woelfel, Jana; Hofmann, James R.; Aldag, S.; Bełdowski, Jacek; Burlakovs, Juris; Garrels, T.; Gorbunova, Julia; Guizani, S.; Kupczyk, Alicja; Kotwicki, Lech; Domnin, Dmitry; Gajewska, Magdalena; Hogland, William; Kołecka, Katarzyna; Nielsen, Jonas Østergaard; Schubert, Hendrik

doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2020.105413

Cited by 41 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Microplastic particles have properties (size, density) similar to those of amber particles, which are known to beach the Sambian Peninsula [22]. It has been shown that when amber is washed out onto the seashore, a rush of anthropogenic litter is also observed (Figure 2) [23].…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 92%

Marine Litter Stormy Wash-Outs: Developing the Neural Network to Predict Them

Fetisov

Chubarenko

2021

Pollutants

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Observations show that after stormy events, anthropogenic litter is washed ashore for short periods of time, providing the opportunity to collect and remove it from the environment. However, water dynamics in sea coastal zones during and after storms are very complicated, and the transport properties of litter items are very diverse; thus, predicting litter wash-outs using classical numerical models is challenging. We analyze meteorological and hydrophysical conditions in the Baltic Sea coastal zone to further use the obtained data as a training sequence for an artificial neural network (ANN). Analysis of the physical processes behind large litter wash-outs links open-source meteorological (wind speed and direction) and hydrodynamic reanalysis (surface wave parameters) data to the time and location of these wash-outs. A detailed analysis of 25 cases of wash-outs observed at the shore of the Sambian Peninsula was performed. The importance of the duration of the storm and its subsiding phase was revealed. An ANN structure is proposed for forecasting marine debris wash-outs as the first step in the creation of a neural network-based tool for managers and beach cleaners, helping to plan effective measures to remove plastics and other anthropogenic contaminants from the marine environment.

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Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 92%

Marine Litter Stormy Wash-Outs: Developing the Neural Network to Predict Them

Fetisov

Chubarenko

2021

Pollutants

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“…Due to dense populations of seaweed, beach wrack washed ashore mainly consists of eelgrass (mainly of Zostera marina L., rare Zostera noltii Hornem.) and brown algae (e.g., Fucus vesiculosus L.) (Chubarenko et al 2021). Comparatively high amounts of up to 1,000 kg/m year −1 with an average of 269 kg/m of beach wrack (in total 4,900 t) are projected to accumulate annually (Mossbauer et al 2012).…”

Section: Management Of Sandy Baltic Beaches In Germany and Lithuaniamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies state the high potential (+3) (Table 2) of further economical beach wrack processing (P1), e.g., as insulation material for construction, filling material for pillows, and use for dune restoration (Sterr et al 2019;Chubarenko et al 2021;Misson 2020). However, due to still an unprofitable processing and additional litter pollution, the flow was assessed only low (+1) to moderate (+2).…”

Section: Scenario 3-combined Beach Wrack and Litter Accumulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increasing policy relevance and demand for nature protection areas (e.g., Natura 2000), as well as a tourism-driven requirement for beach cleaning, lead to trade-offs between nature conservation and tourism interests. Although many far-reaching impacts of human activity on the beach ecosystem are assumed, sufficient ecological studies which explicitly address this complex topic for the Baltic Sea coast are lacking (Mossbauer et al 2012 ; Chubarenko et al 2021 ). Spatial conflicts and trade-offs call for consensus-building and decision-making, and thus for coastal management that more holistically integrates human and environmental interests.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As there is no common international definition nor terminology of beach wrack, we defined it as seaborne organic material including seaweed debris (seagrass, macroalgae), remains of dead animals like crabs, and seashells washed ashore. Other terms used in literature include “beach cast”, “beach debris”, and “flotsam” (Liu et al 2019 ), or further divided into “terrestrial debris” (Chubarenko et al 2021 ). In the Baltic, beach wrack mainly consists of seagrass and macroalgae with only a little amount of shells (Chubarenko et al 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Impact Assessment of Beach Wrack and Litter on Beach Ecosystem Services to Support Coastal Management at the Baltic Sea

Robbe

Woelfel

Balčiūnas

et al. 2021

Environmental Management

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As accumulation zones, sandy beaches are temporal sinks for beach wrack and litter, both often seen as nuisances to tourists. Consequently, there is a need for beach management and an enhanced political interest to evaluate their ecosystem services. We applied a new online multidisciplinary assessment approach differentiating between the provision, potential, and flow at German and Lithuanian beaches (Southern Baltic Sea). We selected a set of services and assessed four beach scenarios developed accordingly to common management measures (different beach wrack and litter accumulations). We conducted comparative assessments involving 39 external experts using spread-sheets and workshops, an online survey as well as a combined data-based approach. Results indicated the relative importance of cultural (52.2%), regulating and maintenance (37.4%), and provisioning services (10.4%). Assessed impact scores showed that the removal of beach wrack is not favorable with regard to the overall ecosystem service provision. Contrarily, the removal of litter can increase the service flow significantly. When removing beach wrack, synergies between services should be used, i.e., use of biomass as material or further processing. However, trade-offs prevail between cultural services and the overall provision of beach ecosystem services (i.e., coastal protection and biodiversity). We recommend developing new and innovative beach cleaning techniques and procedures, i.e., different spatio-temporal patterns, e.g., mechanical vs. manually, daily vs. on-demand, whole beach width vs. patches. Our fast and easy-to-apply assessment approach can support decision-making processes within sustainable coastal management allowing us to show and compare the impacts of measures from a holistic ecosystem services perspective.

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