Giuseppe Suaria, Stefano Aliani, Floating debris in the Mediterranean
Sea, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 86, Issues 1?2, 15 September
2014, Pages 494-504, ISSN 0025-326X,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.06.025.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X14004056)
Abstract: Results from the first large-scale survey of floating natural
(NMD) and anthropogenic (AMD) debris (>2 cm) in the central and western
part of the Mediterranean Sea are reported. Floating debris was found
throughout the entire study area with densities ranging from 0 to 194.6
items/km2 and mean abundances of 24.9 AMD items/km2 and 6.9 NMD
items/km2 across all surveyed locations. On the whole, 78% of all
sighted objects were of anthropogenic origin, 95.6% of which were
petrochemical derivatives (i.e. plastic and styrofoam). Maximum AMD
densities (>52 items/km2) were found in the Adriatic Sea and in the
Algerian basin, while the lowest densities (<6.3 items/km2) were
observed in the Central Tyrrhenian and in the Sicilian Sea. All the
other areas had mean densities ranging from 10.9 to 30.7 items/km2.
According to our calculations, more than 62 million macro-litter items
are currently floating on the surface of the whole Mediterranean basin.
Keywords: Marine litter; Floating debris; Mediterranean; Plastic pollution