Peer-reviewed articles 17,970 +



Title: ASSESSING MARINE LITTER AT KAMCHIYA-SHKORPILOVTSI BEACH: A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF ABUNDANCE, DENSITY AND COMPOSITION

ASSESSING MARINE LITTER AT KAMCHIYA-SHKORPILOVTSI BEACH: A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF ABUNDANCE, DENSITY AND COMPOSITION
Radoslava Bekova
10.5593/sgem2023/5.1
1314-2704
English
23
5.1
•    Prof. DSc. Oleksandr Trofymchuk, UKRAINE 
•    Prof. Dr. hab. oec. Baiba Rivza, LATVIA
Marine litter is a significant and growing environmental problem with global implications, affecting oceans and seas. This study analyzes marine litter's composition and density, specifically at Kamchiya-Shkorpilovtsi, the longest beach on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. The monitoring period from 2018 to 2022 covers an area of 7645 m2. To effectively study the area, it was divided into four monitoring transects: Kamchiya- Mouth, Kamchiya-South (Novo Oryahovo Beach), Shkorpilovtsi, and Shkorpilovtsi- South. During the study, a DJI Phantom RTK was utilized to create a high-resolution raster orthomosaic, aiding in identifying marine litter (ML). A total of 8892 items were identified and classified into eight categories: "Artificial polymer materials" (81.94% of total items), "Rubber" (0.74%), "Cloth/Textile" (0.72%), "Paper/Cardboard" (8.37%), "Processed wood" (1.79%), "Metal" (2.87%), "Glass/Ceramics" (3.19%), and "Unidentified" (0.38%). The density of litter was estimated to be 0.24 items per square meter. In terms of abundance, the highest count of ML was recorded in 2021, with 3250 items, which coincided with the pandemic situation in Bulgaria. Throughout the monitoring period, artificial polymer materials constituted the majority, accounting for 82% of the litter. The most prevalent types of marine beach litter were cigarette butts, plastic and polystyrene fragments, industrial packaging, plastic cups and rings, as well as beach-related cosmetic bottles and containers like sunblocks, nets, and net pieces. The cleanliness of Kamchiya-Shkorpilovtsi Beach was assessed using the Clean Coast Index, which classified it as "Clean" with a score of 4.77. Additionally, this study introduced the Plastic Abundance Index (PAI) as a comprehensive measure to evaluate pollution caused by marine debris. The results of the PAI analysis yielded a value of 1.49, classifying Kamchiya-Shkorpilovtsi beach as falling into the "Moderate" type in terms of the number of plastic items in sampling units. This indicates a significant presence of plastics in the beach environment.
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The presented surveys discussed herein were supported financially by the National Science Fund to the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Bulgaria under a project entitled “ Infrastructure for sustainable development of marine research and Participation in the European Infrastructure Euro-Argo - MASRI” from the National roadmap for scientific Infrastructure (2020 – 2027) of Republic of Bulgaria.
The public activities and cleaning campaigns of the studied beach-dune systems were part of the project "Raising public awareness, mapping and reducing anthropogenic waste for the protection of the Bulgarian Black Sea beaches and dunes", part of the scientific-research program of the DER Touristik Foundation, Germany.
conference
Proceedings of 23rd International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2023
23rd International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2023, 03 - 09 July, 2023
Proceedings Paper
STEF92 Technology
International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM
SWS Scholarly Society; Acad Sci Czech Republ; Latvian Acad Sci; Polish Acad Sci; Serbian Acad Sci and Arts; Natl Acad Sci Ukraine; Natl Acad Sci Armenia; Sci Council Japan; European Acad Sci, Arts and Letters; Acad Fine Arts Zagreb Croatia; Croatian Acad Sci and Arts; Acad Sci Moldova; Montenegrin Acad Sci and Arts; Georgian Acad Sci; Acad Fine Arts and Design Bratislava; Turkish Acad Sci.
39-48
03 - 09 July, 2023
website
9273
marine litter, unmanned aerial systems, Clean Coast Index (CCI), Plastic Abundance Index (PAI), Kamchiya-Shkorpilovtsi beach

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