Coastal and marine pollution in the Anthropocene

Ma igomez An h opocene Coas s (2023) 6:12
h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s44218-023-00027-5
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An h opocene Coas s
Coas al andma ine pollu ion
in heAn h opocene
Ionan Ma igomez1*
Keywo ds Me als, Oil, Mic oplaspics, Sou ces, Fa e, Biological e ec s, Risk assessmen
In he An h opocene, land-based ac i i ies, ma i ime
a ic, acciden al spills and o sho e mining esul in
a a ie y o pollu an s in coas al and ma ine ecosys-
ems including e.g. me als, pe sis en o ganic pollu an s
(POPs), pha maceu icals, nanoma e ials (NMs), mic o-
plas ics (MPs) and o he con aminan s o eme ging con-
ce n (CECs). Mo eo e , hese pollu an s occu in combi-
na ion and hei occu ence, a e and biological impac
depend on en i onmen al and oceanog aphic a iables
d i en by global change pa e ns and ends exace ba ed
in he An h opocene. S udies dealing wi h eme ging
issues in coas al and ma ine pollu ion, as well as wi h
egional and la ge-scale moni o ing, long- e m ends,
and isk and impac assessmen a e pi o al o p o ide sci-
en i ically based suppo o en i onmen al policy make s
and manage s.
Ma ine MPs a e widely dis ibu ed in he wo ld and
include small plas ic pa icles (< 5 mm) ha exhibi
wide anges o densi ies, sizes, and shapes esul ing in
di e se dynamical p ope ies, such as sinking o ising
eloci y, c i ical shea s ess, and e-suspension h esh-
old (Kha mullina and Chuba enko 2019). Mo eo e ,
hese p ope ies a y signi ican ly wi h he ime spen
in ma ine en i onmen , whe e he MPs may pe sis o
decades o cen u ies. Modelling he anspo and a e
o MPs is c ucial o deal wi h his global en i onmen al
challenge. Due o he hei he e ogeneous na u e and
o hei pe sis ence, mo abili y and mu abili y in he
ma ine en i onmen , modelling o he anspo and
a e o MPs should include coupling o di e en models
including ensemble modelling, chaos heo y app oaches,
machine lea ning, e c. O e all, he complex p ocesses
o MPs anspo in he ocean include su ace d i ing,
e ical mixing, beaching, and se ling (Li e al. 2020).
Fo buoyan MPs, a Lag ange ack model may simula e
he su ace d i p ocess, conside ing cu en , windage
e ec , and S okes d i . Modelling o e ical mixing is
mo e limi ed because he p ocesses o e ical mixing a e
less known due o he small size o he MPs. Modelling
includes se ling a e because MPs accumula e in sedi-
men s as a esul o se lemen and en ainmen . Ye , i
mus be aken in o accoun ha se ling may be enhanced
by bio ilm o ma ion on he MPs su ace esul ing in an
inc ease in hei densi y and include bio ouling a e as a
modelling pa ame e .
Resea ch on MPs in eshwa e sys ems, es ua ies,
coas s, open sea and pola egions is p og essing apidly
in China (Li e al. 2019), which has p o ided eco ds o
hei spa ial and empo al dis ibu ion as well as new da a
on hei oxici y and isk assessmen . Ye , he me hodol-
ogy o collec ing and quan i ying he MPs and o assess-
ing hei eco oxici y and biodeg adabili y is di e se. The
managemen and con ol o MP pollu ion demand ex en-
si e in e na ional coope a ion, uni ied me hodologies
and a be e knowledge on lux, li e cycle, global dis ibu-
ion and eco oxicology o he MPs. Bai and Li (2020) used
a ma e ial low analysis (MFA) me hod o unde s and
he con ibu ion o China in global ma ine plas ic was e
inpu . The MFA me hod includes li ecycle assessmen
( om p ima y plas ic o was e including in e media e
plas ic p oduc s) and combines s a is ical da a (Go -
e nmen al and p o ided by non-p o i o ganiza ions)
*Co espondence:
Ionan Ma igomez
[email p o ec ed]
1 Plen zia Ma ine S a ion (PiE-UPV/EHU), Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y,
Au onomus Communi y o he Basque Coun y, Plen zia, Bizkaia, Spain
Page 2 o 3
Ma igomez An h opocene Coas s (2023) 6:12
o es ablish an MFA model. On his basis, he annual
amoun o plas ic was e en e ing he ocean om China
was es ima ed o be o 0.65 million onnes in 2011, wi h
a sligh inc easing end un il 2016 and a decline since
2018 a e go e nmen al managemen ac ions. In he
Yellow Sea, mos ecen esea ch on MPs includes s ud-
ies on su ace wa e , he seawa e column, sedimen s,
and ma ine o ganisms (Li and Sun 2020). MPs a e ound
h oughou he wes Yellow Sea (su ounded by China
and he Ko ean Peninsula), being mo e abundan in he
No h han in he Sou h egion. Fib es, ilms and ag-
men o di e se size om 0,025 o 5mm we e equen
in he seawa e , whils pelle s and oams we e he main
shapes in in e idal sedimen s and ib es in seabed sedi-
men s. Inges ed MPs we e iden i ied in a wide a ie y o
ma ine o ganisms (zooplank on, shell ish, and ish), espe-
cially in sea cucumbe s, in which he dominan MPs we e
ib es (< 1mm) and anspa en -colou ed MPs made o
polye hylene, polyp opylene, and cellophane.
Li and Sun (2020) iden i ied main challenges o
esea ch on MP pollu ion in coas al and ma ine en i on-
men s, say: s anda dize MP sampling me hods, unde -
s and MP-bio a in e ac ions (e.g., ood web ans e , MPs
as ec o s o POPs), and speci ic s a egies o MP isk
assessmen and o educing MP emissions. Ne heim and
Lushe (2020) used oppo unis ic non-dis up i e sampling
o in es iga e MPs in subsu ace wa e s in No wegian
jo ds including he analysis o dis ibu ion e ec s. Sam-
pling was ca ied ou on-boa d o esea ch and ec ea-
ional essels, comme cial eigh and anspo co e ing
250km om Be gen o Mas jo den. Thus, hey succeeded
in iden i ying MPs in 89% o samples, wi h an a e age
abundance es ima ed o be 1.9 pa icles m−3. The ali-
da ed oppo unis ic non-dis up i e sampling me hods
we e shown o p o ide a easible oolbox o sampling,
chemical cha ac e isa ion, and long- e m moni o ing o
MPs ha migh be sui able o wo ldwide implemen a-
ion. Wa d e al. (2019) deal wi h he in e ac ions o MPs
wi h eeding and diges ion in suspension- eeding bi al e
molluscs. Bi al es ha e he abili y o selec among pa -
icles bo h p e- and pos -inges i ely; his may be el-
e an o unde s and in e nal exposu e, oxic e ec s, and
ophic ans e o MPs in hese a ge ma ine o ganisms.
Pa icle size, shape, and su ace p ope ies ha e e ec on
cap u e, p e e en ial inges ion, pos -inges i e so ing,
and eges ion o he MPs, which has implica ions o he
use o bi al es as bioindica o s o MPs pollu ion in he
ma ine en i onmen .
Toge he wi h con aminan s o eme ging conce n,
oil spills and long- e m pollu ion in es ua ine sedi-
men s and coas al land ills also pose impo an isks
o coas al and ma ine en i onmen s. Du ing oil spill
e en s, oil slicks co e changes he su ace oughness
by supp essing mul i-scale ocean su ace wa es and
he d ag coe icien . Shen e al. (2019), using SAR sa -
elli e emo e sensing o quan i y hese changes, ound
ha he oil slick co e a e he Deepwa e Ho izon oil
spill could esul in o e - es ima es by 75∼100% in he
wind d i en Ekman cu en . The au ho s conclude ha
o e looking his bias could jeopa dise oil ajec o y
p edic ion, especially o la ge-scale oil spill si ua ions.
As discussed by Alyazichi e al. (2021), ace elemen
pollu an s accumula e wi hin su ace sedimen s o
es ua ies o decades and cons i u e a po en ial en i-
onmen al challenge as hey may en e he wa e col-
umn by e-suspension, changes in pH and edox
po en ial, bio u ba ion and o ganic deg ada ion, agg a-
a ed by global clima e change. Sedimen me al le els
depend on he composi ion and g anulome y o he
sedimen , bu hey a e sensi i e indica o s o he ele-
ance and p oximi y o pollu ion sou ces such as u ban
and indus ial discha ges and s o m wa e ou le s, as
shown by Alyazichi e al. (2021) in he ela i ely unpol-
lu ed and heal hy es ua y o Po Hacking (Sydney,
Aus alia). In his case s udy, me als (Ni, C , Cu, Zn,
Pb, and As) in he sedimen s we e below he ANZECC/
ARMCANZ guideline low igge alue (ISQG-low)
and posed li le isk; howe e , a ho spo was iden i ied
in Gunnama a Bay, whe e Zn and Cu concen a ions
exceeded he high igge alue (ISQG-high). B and
and Spence (2018) ecognise ha his o ic coas al land-
ills a e a global en i onmen al p oblem. These land ills
a e e oding and eleasing was e o nea by ecosys ems,
and e osion is likely o become mo e common wi h he
an icipa ed e ec s o clima e change. Thei impac may
be coun e ac ed by implemen ing egionally a ge ed
mi iga ion ac ions bu hese a e expensi e and hence
en i onmen al manage s mus de ine p io i ies. B and
and Spence (2018) p opose an o e all isk index o
iden i y his o ic coas al land ills ha pose high pollu-
ion isk. The index includes a “was e elease” compo-
nen and a “pollu ion” componen and p o ides suppo
o decide which si es pose he g ea es pollu ion isk o
p io i ise managemen esou ces.
These con ibu ions a e exempla y o he many ha will
p o ide scien i ically based suppo o ad ance owa ds a
be e managemen o coas al and ma ine pollu ion. In
u u e pape s in An h opocene Coas s, we look o wa d
o consolida ing his scope as well as o ex ending i s
co e age wi h con ibu ions dealing wi h ecosys em and
human heal h, sus ainabili y and addi ional h ea s linked
o coas al and ma ine pollu ion (e.g. o he CECs, an ibi-
o ic esis ance genes).
Acknowledgemen s
The au ho would like o g a e ully acknowledge inancial suppo om he
Basque Go e nmen h ough Consolida ed Resea ch G oup GIC IT1743-22.
Page 3 o 3
Ma igomez An h opocene Coas s (2023) 6:12
Au ho ’s con ibu ions
No applicable.
Funding
Basque Go e nmen ; Consolida ed Resea ch G oup GIC IT1743-22.
A ailabili y o da a and ma e ials
No applicable.
Decla a ions
Compe ing in e es s
No applicable.
Recei ed: 7 June 2023 Re ised: 7 June 2023 Accep ed: 14 June 2023
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