L. Polasek, J. Bering, H. Kim, P. Neitlich, B. Pister, M. Terwilliger,
K. Nicolato, C. Turner, T. Jones, Marine debris in five national parks
in Alaska, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 117, Issues 1–2, 15 April
2017, Pages 371-379, ISSN 0025-326X,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.01.085.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X17301133)
Abstract: Abstract
Marine debris is a management issue with ecological and recreational
impacts for agencies, especially on remote beaches not accessible by
road. This project was implemented to remove and document marine debris
from five coastal National Park Service units in Alaska. Approximately
80 km of coastline were cleaned with over 10,000 kg of debris collected.
Marine debris was found at all 28 beaches surveyed. Hard plastics were
found on every beach and foam was found at every beach except one.
Rope/netting was the next most commonly found category, present at 23
beaches. Overall, plastic contributed to 60% of the total weight of
debris. Rope/netting (14.6%) was a greater proportion of the weight from
all beaches than foam (13.3%). Non-ferrous metal contributed the
smallest amount of debris by weight (1.7%). The work forms a reference
condition dataset of debris surveyed in the Western Arctic and the Gulf
of Alaska within one season.
Keywords: Alaska; Marine debris; National Park Service