Datasets / Marine Debris Data Set (Benthic Marine Debris along the US West Coast)


Marine Debris Data Set (Benthic Marine Debris along the US West Coast)

Published By National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Issued over 9 years ago

US
beta

Summary

Type of release
a one-off release of a set of related datasets

Data Licence
Not Applicable

Content Licence
Creative Commons CCZero

Verification
automatically awarded

Description

As marine debris levels continue to grow worldwide, identifying sources, composition, and distribution of debris (as well as potential effects) becomes increasingly important. We investigated the composition and abundance of man-made, benthic marine debris at 1,347 randomly selected stations along the U.S. West Coast during the 2007 - 2008 West Coast Groundfish Bottom Trawl Surveys. Anthropogenic debris was observed in 469 tows at depths of 55 - 1,280 m. Plastic and metallic debris occurred in the greatest number of hauls, followed by fabric and glass. Mean density was 67.1 items km-2 throughout the study area, but was significantly higher south of 3600N latitude. Mean density significantly increased with depth, ranging from 30 items km-2 in shallow (55-183 m) water to 128 items km-2 in the deepest depth stratum (550-1,280 m). The higher densities at depth, as well as the types of debris, suggest a marine rather than land-based origin, although accumulation of debris from shallower or land-based sources may partially explain the observed distribution pattern. Debris densities observed along the U.S. West Coast were comparable to those seen elsewhere, and provide a valuable backdrop against which future accumulations can be compared. Excel Marine Debris Spreadsheet