COCONET SUMMER COURSE “GES & MPAs” Good Environmental Status and Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Rabat, 8-13 september What is marine litter?
COCONET SUMMER COURSE “GES & MPAs” Good Environmental Status and Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Rabat, 8-13 september What is marine litter? Definition: Marine debris is defined as any persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned into the marine environment.
COCONET SUMMER COURSE “GES & MPAs” Good Environmental Status and Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Rabat, 8-13 september What is marine litter? Definition: Marine debris LITTER is defined as any persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned into the marine environment.
COCONET SUMMER COURSE “GES & MPAs” Good Environmental Status and Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Rabat, 8-13 september What is marine litter? Natural vs Antropogenic debris
COCONET SUMMER COURSE “GES & MPAs” Good Environmental Status and Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Rabat, 8-13 september What is marine litter? Natural vs Antropogenic debris
COCONET SUMMER COURSE “GES & MPAs” Good Environmental Status and Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Rabat, 8-13 september What is marine litter? Natural vs Antropogenic debris
COCONET SUMMER COURSE “GES & MPAs” Good Environmental Status and Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Rabat, 8-13 september What is marine litter? Natural vs Antropogenic debris
COCONET SUMMER COURSE “GES & MPAs” Good Environmental Status and Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Rabat, 8-13 september What is marine litter? Mediterranean Survey in 2013
COCONET SUMMER COURSE “GES & MPAs” Good Environmental Status and Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Rabat, 8-13 september What is marine litter? 78% of objects had anthropogenic origin (95,6% were plastic)
COCONET SUMMER COURSE “GES & MPAs” Good Environmental Status and Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Rabat, 8-13 september 2014 Q. What is marine litter? A. It’s plastic waste What is plastic? Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials used in a huge, and growing, range of applications.
COCONET SUMMER COURSE “GES & MPAs” Good Environmental Status and Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Rabat, 8-13 september What is plastic? What is plastic? Typically organic polymers of high molecular mass. The vast majority are based on chains of carbon atoms alone or with oxygen, sulfur, or nitrogen. They are usually synthetic, most commonly derived from petrochemicals.
COCONET SUMMER COURSE “GES & MPAs” Good Environmental Status and Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Rabat, 8-13 september What is plastic? Most plastics contain other organic or inorganic compounds blended in. The amount of additives ranges from zero percentage (for example in polymers used to wrap foods) to more than 50% for certain electronic applications. The average content of additives is 20% by weight of the polymer.
COCONET SUMMER COURSE “GES & MPAs” Good Environmental Status and Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Rabat, 8-13 september What is plastic? Due to their relatively low cost, ease of manufacture, versatility, and imperviousness to water, plastics are used in an enormous and expanding range of products. They have already displaced many traditional materials, such as wood, stone, horn and bone, leather, paper, metal, glass, and ceramic, in most of their former uses
COCONET SUMMER COURSE “GES & MPAs” Good Environmental Status and Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Rabat, 8-13 september 2014 Degradation Most polymers can be degraded by photolysis. Electromagnetic waves in the visible or ultraviolet light, X-rays and gamma rays are usually involved in polymers’ degradation Thermolysis at high temperatures Chemical degradation by solvents 1.2 Fate of plastics in the ocean?
COCONET SUMMER COURSE “GES & MPAs” Good Environmental Status and Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Rabat, 8-13 september 2014 Biodegradation Some “biodegradable plastics” decompose extremely slowly in regular conditions, and even more slowly in the ocean. 1.2 Fate of plastics in the ocean?
COCONET SUMMER COURSE “GES & MPAs” Good Environmental Status and Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Rabat, 8-13 september 2014 Biodegradation Currently there are not independent standards for what “biodegradable plastic” means Some plastics that claim to be ‘biodegradable’ or ‘compostable’ may take many years to decompose or may require special high-heat composting facilities (which are uncommon) 1.2 Fate of plastics in the ocean?
COCONET SUMMER COURSE “GES & MPAs” Good Environmental Status and Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Rabat, 8-13 september 2014 Degradation by Embrittlement 1.2 Fate of plastics in the ocean?
COCONET SUMMER COURSE “GES & MPAs” Good Environmental Status and Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Rabat, 8-13 september 2014 Extensibility of Polypropylene 1.2 Fate of plastics in the ocean?
COCONET SUMMER COURSE “GES & MPAs” Good Environmental Status and Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Rabat, 8-13 september 2014 How long to photodegradate plastic? 1.2 Fate of plastics in the ocean?
COCONET SUMMER COURSE “GES & MPAs” Good Environmental Status and Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Rabat, 8-13 september 2014 Q. Fate of plastics in the ocean? A. At our timescale is a PERMANENT feature of the ocean