Características de basuras (abundancia, tipo y origen) en playas de la costa gallega (2001-2010)

In order to assess the situation of beach litter on the Galician coast (NW Spain), we conducted a seasonal series of sampling on three beaches: A Lanzada, Baldaio and O Rostro. A total of 79 surveys were conducted from 2001 to 2010 on a stretch of 100 m and a stretch of 1 km. A total of 37862 beach litter items were counted and classified on the 100-m stretch and 7845 on the 1-km stretch. The average annual value of litter items for the 100-m beach stretch was 1016±633, 88±31 and 332±183; for the 1-km stretch, the average value of litter items was 163±87, 42±31 and 81±38, for A Lanzada, Baldaio and O Rostro beaches, respectively. The most common element found in beach litter was made of plastic, with average percent of 63, 38 and 83 for A Lanzada, Baldaio and O Rostro, respectively. We found that the main source of beach litter was the fishing and aquaculture sector, with an average percent value of 23, 14 and 38 for A Lanzada, Baldaio and O Rostro, respectively.Con el fin de evaluar la situación de las basuras marinas en playas de la costa de Galicia (noroeste de España) se realizó una serie de muestreos estacionales en tres playas: A Lanzada, Baldaio y O Rostro. 79 muestreos se llevaron a cabo desde 2001 hasta 2010 en tramos de playas de 100 metros y 1 km. 37862 elementos fueron contados y clasificados en el tramo de 100 metros y 7845 en los estudios de 1 km. El valor promedio anual de basuras por cada 100 m de playa fue 1016±633, 88±31 y 332±183; en los muestreos de 1 km de playa, el valor medio fue de 163±87, 42±31 y 81±38, para A Lanzada, O Baldaio y Rostro, respectivamente. El elemento más común que se encuentra en la basura de la playa se compone principalmente de plástico con un porcentaje promedio de 63, 38 y 83 en A Lanzada, Baldaio y O Rostro, respectivamente. Se encontró que las principales fuentes de basura en playa son la pesca y la acuicultura, con un porcentaje promedio de 23, 14 y 38 en A Lanzada, Baldaio y O Rostro, respectivamente

Analysis of the elemental composition of marine litter by field-portable-XRF

publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Analysis of the elemental composition of marine litter by field-portable-XRF journaltitle: Talanta articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2016.06.026 content_type: article copyright: © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Application of UAV for Village Mapping in Pangambatan, Sumatra Utara

Pangambatan Village, as part of the Lake Toba National Strategic Area and a tourist destination, still lacks facilities, infrastructure, and professional human resources to manage its cultural and tourism potential. An initial mapping of the conditions and potential of the area is needed to drive tourism in Pangambatan Village towards sustainable tourism. This can be done by mapping environmental conditions and tourism potential in Pangambatan Village, providing recommendations for sustainable tourism management, and providing environmental management facilities. The study was carried out using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology. UAV technology offers new opportunities for fast and efficient remote environmental monitoring and the collection of high spatial and temporal resolution data. The benefits of this mapping can be used to see environmental conditions and environmental pollution that may occur because of tourist activities. In addition, the use of this technology is expected to help related parties in making decisions and planning

Detection of Wet Riparian Areas using Very High Resolution Multispectral UAS Imagery Based on a Feature-based Machine Learning Algorithm

Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) imagery has enabled very high-resolution multispectral image acquisition. Detection of wet areas and classification of land cover based on these images using the Machine Learning (ML) algorithm named Random Forest (RF) is our main purpose in this paper. Very high-resolution UAS images have been used as inputs for a machine learner to access the capability of different spectral bands and spectral vegetation indices, elevation, and texture features in the classification of land cover and detection of the wet riparian area in the case study in two different epochs. There are many existing methods for the classification of land cover based on UAS images, but very high-resolution centimeter-level data are of main importance in this analysis. Outstanding results have been produced in both epochs considering three extremely accurate performance analysers. Additionally, in this research, the most decisive and effective features have been discovered to compromise accuracy and the number of effectual features

Beached and Floating Litter Surveys by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Operational Analogies and Differences

The abundance of litter pollution in the marine environment has been increasing globally. Remote sensing techniques are valuable tools to advance knowledge on litter abundance, distribution and dynamics. Images collected by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV, aka drones) are highly efficient to map and monitor local beached (BL) and floating (FL) marine litter items. In this work, the operational insights to carry out both BL and FL surveys using UAVs are detailly described. In particular, flight planning and deployment, along with image products processing and analysis, are reported and compared. Furthermore, analogies and differences between UAV-based BL and FL mapping are discussed, with focus on the challenges related to BL and FL item detection and recognition. Given the efficiency of UAV to map BL and FL, this remote sensing technique can replace traditional methods for litter monitoring, further improving the knowledge of marine litter dynamics in the marine environment. This communication aims at helping researchers in planning and performing optimized drone-based BL and FL surveys

Macroplastic storage and remobilization in rivers

The paper presents a conceptual model of the route of macroplastic debris (5 > mm) through a fluvial system, which can support future works on the overlooked processes of macroplastic storage and remobilization in rivers. We divided the macroplastic route into (1) input, (2) transport (3) storage, (4) remobilization and (5) output phases. Phase 1 is mainly controlled by humans, phases 2-4 by fluvial processes, and phase 5 by both types of controls. We hypothesize that natural characteristics of fluvial systems and their modification by dam reservoirs and flood embankments construction are key controls on macroplastic storage and remobilization in rivers. The zone of macroplastic storage can be defined as a river floodplain inundated since the beginning of widespread disposal of plastic waste to the environment in the 1960s and remobilization zone as a part of the storage zone influenced by floodwaters and bank erosion. The amount of macroplastic in both zones can be estimated using data on the abundance of surface- and subsurface-stored macroplastic and the lateral and vertical extent of the zones. Our model creates the framework for estimation of how much plastic has accumulated in rivers and will be present in future riverscapes

Litter reduction during beach closure in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic : quantifying the impact of users on beach litter generation

This study aimed to quantify marine litter before and during the COVID pandemic found on urban touristic beaches closed to beachgoer access in northeastern Brazil. Litter identification and quantification was conducted during April, June, and August 2019, when 3583 items were sampled, and replicated during the same months in 2020, when access to the beaches studied was prohibited and a significant reduction in the amount of litter was found, 1812 items (49% decrease). Transects were used to monitor and classify litter according to its source, namely: autochthonous (litter that was locally discarded) and allochthonous (litter from other sites and sources). All beaches were classified as "very clean" and presented a smaller amount of litter during the beach closure period. The highest total marine litter reduction between the periods studied was 83%, while au tochthonous litter in particular showed the most significant reduction, 88%. The comparison between the quantity and type of litter found in both periods showed greater specific anthropic pressure from beach users. Keywords: beach management. Coastal tourism. Environmental quality. Solid waste management

Mini-review and discussion of a potential standardization

Gonçalves, G., Andriolo, U., Gonçalves, L. M. S., Sobral, P., & Bessa, F. (2022). Beach litter survey by drones: Mini-review and discussion of a potential standardization. Environmental Pollution, 315(15 December), 1-8. [120370]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120370The abundance of beach litter has been increasing globally during the last decades, and it is an issue of global concern. A new survey strategy, based on uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV, aka drones), has been recently adopted to improve the monitoring of beach macro-litter items abundance and distribution. This work identified and analysed the 15 studies that used drone for beach litter surveys on an operational basis. The analysis of technical parameters for drone flight deployment revealed that flight altitude varied between 5 and 40 m. The analysis of final assessments showed that, through manual and/or automated items detection on images, most of studies provided litter bulk characteristics (type, material and size), along with litter distribution maps. The potential standardization of drone-based litter survey would allow a comparison among surveys, however it seems difficult to propose a standard set of flight parameters, given the wide variety of coastal environments, the different devices available, and the diverse objectives of drone-based litter surveys. On the other hand, in our view, a set of common outcomes can be proposed, based on the grid mapping process, which can be easily generated following the procedure indicated in the paper. This work sets the ground for the development of a standardized protocol for drone litter data collection, analysis and assessments. This would allow the provision of broad scale comparative studies to support coastal management at both national and international scales.publishersversionpublishe