Lost and found: Patterns of marine litter accumulation on the remote Island of Santa Luzia, Cabo Verde

Over the past five or six decades, contamination and pollution of the world's enclosed seas, coastal waters and the wider open oceans by plastics and other synthetic, non-biodegradable materials (generally known as 'marine debris') has been an ever-increasing phenomenon. The sources of these polluting materials are both land- and marine-based, their origins may be local or distant, and the environmental consequences are many and varied. The more widely recognized problems are typically associated with entanglement, ingestion, suffocation and general debilitation, and are often related to stranding events and public perception. Among the less frequently recognized and recorded problems are global hazards to shipping, fisheries and other maritime activities. Today, there are rapidly developing research interests in the biota attracted to freely floating (i.e. pelagic) marine debris, commonly known as 'hangers-on and hitch-hikers' as well as material sinking to the sea floor despite being buoyant. Dispersal of aggressive alien and invasive species by these mechanisms leads one to reflect on the possibilities that ensuing invasions could endanger sensitive, or at-risk coastal environments (both marine and terrestrial) far from their native habitats.

Plastic debris is accumulating on the beaches of Kauai at an alarming rate, averaging 484 pieces/day in one locality. Particles sampled were analyzed to determine the effects of mechanical and chemical processes on the breakdown of polymers in a subtropical setting. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicates that plastic surfaces contain fractures, horizontal notches, flakes, pits, grooves, and vermiculate textures. The mechanically produced textures provide ideal loci for chemical weathering to occur which further weakens the polymer surface leading to embrittlement. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results show that some particles have highly oxidized surfaces as indicated by intense peaks in the lower wavenumber region of the spectra. Our textural analyses suggest that polyethylene has the potential to degrade more readily than polypropylene. Further evaluation of plastic degradation in the natural environment may lead to a shift away from the production and use of plastic materials with longer residence times. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.