Message in a bottle: The story of drifting plastic in the eastern Mediterranean Sea

Galia Pasternak; Dov Zviely; Asaf Ariel; Ehud Spanier; Christine Ribic

doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2018.04.034

Home/Archive/USGS

USGS · 70198758

Message in a bottle: The story of drifting plastic in the eastern Mediterranean Sea

Galia Pasternak·Dov Zviely·Asaf Ariel·Ehud Spanier·Christine Ribic

View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

The Mediterranean Sea is a closed basin with limited water exchange through the Strait of Gibraltar, and sites along its shores show the greatest densities of marine debris in the world. Plastic bottles, which are a growing concern due to high consumption of soft drinks and bottled water, constitute most of the floating marine debris. In this paper we present the transport mechanisms of floating marine debris to and from the Israeli coast using an experimental offshore release and recovery of plastic bottles, with the participation of citizens. Many bottles released near the beach in the south part of Israel, returned to the beach at a short distance and time from the release point. Some release locations had no bottle returns. Ten bottles, released from three locations, were recovered many dozens to hundreds of kilometers from the release point. Since most of the westward water flow in the eastern Mediterranean is subsurface, it was not surprising to find our floating debris only in the east. That makes the Levant basin in the eastern Mediterranean a collection area for floating debris.

Explore related subjects

Waste Management Article

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

Galia Pasternak, Dov Zviely, Asaf Ariel, Ehud Spanier, Christine Ribic. 2018. Message in a bottle: The story of drifting plastic in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2018.04.034

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related USGS reports

USGS2015

Screening tool to evaluate the vulnerability of down-gradient receptors to groundwater contaminants from uncapped landfills

A screening tool for quantifying levels of concern for contaminants detected in monitoring wells on or near landfills to down-gradient receptors (streams, wetlands and residential lots) was developed and evaluated. The tool uses Quick Domenico Multi-scenario (QDM), a spreadsheet implementation of Domenico-based solute transport, to estimate concentrations of contaminants reaching receptors under steady-state conditions from a constant-strength source. Unlike most other available Domenico-based model applications, QDM calculates the time for down-gradient contaminant concentrations to approach steady state and appropriate dispersivity values, and allows for up to fifty simulations on a single spreadsheet. Sensitivity of QDM solutions to critical model parameters was quantified. The screening tool uses QDM results to categorize landfills as having high, moderate and low levels of concern, based on contaminant concentrations reaching receptors relative to regulatory concentrations. The application of this tool was demonstrated by assessing levels of concern (as defined by the New Jersey Pinelands Commission) for thirty closed, uncapped landfills in the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve, using historic water-quality data from monitoring wells on and near landfills and hydraulic parameters from regional flow models. Twelve of these landfills are categorized as having high levels of concern, indicating a need for further assessment. This tool is not a replacement for conventional numerically-based transport model or other available Domenico-based applications, but is suitable for quickly assessing the level of concern posed by a landfill or other contaminant point source before expensive and lengthy monitoring or remediation measures are taken. In addition to quantifying the level of concern using historic groundwater-monitoring data, the tool allows for archiving model scenarios and adding refinements as new data become available.

New Jersey↗

USGS1998

Microtox(TM) characterization of foundry sand residuals

Although foundry residuals, consisting mostly of waste Sands, represent a potentially attractive, high-volume resource for beneficial reuse applications (e.g. highway embankment construction), prospective end users are understandably concerned about unforeseen liabilities stemming from the use of these residuals. This paper, therefore, focuses on the innovative use of a microbial bioassay as a means of developing a characterization of environmental suitability extending beyond the analytical coverage already provided by mandated chemical-specific tests (i.e., TCLP, etc.). Microtox(TM) bioassays were conducted on leachates derived from residuals obtained at a wide range of facilities, including: 11 gray and ductile iron foundries plus one each steel and aluminum foundries. In addition, virgin sand samples were used to establish a relative 'natural' benchmark against which the waste foundry sands could then be compared in terms of their apparent quality. These bioassay tests were able to effectively 'fingerprint' those residuals whose bioassay behavior was comparable to that of virgin materials. In fact, the majority of gray and ductile iron foundry residuals tested during this reported study elicited Microtox(TM) response levels which fell within or below the virgin sand response range, consequently providing another quantifiable layer of Support for this industry's claim that their sands are 'cleaner than dirt.' However, negative Microtox(TM) responses beyond that of the virgin sands were observed with a number of foundry samples (i.e. four of the 11 gray or ductile iron sands plus both non-iron sands). Therefore, the latter results would suggest that these latter residuals be excluded from beneficial reuse for the immediate future, at least until the cause and nature of this negative response has been further identified.

Waste Management↗

USGS1994

Simulation of gas phase transport of carbon-14 at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA

We have simulated gas phase transport of Carbon-14 at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Three models were established to calculate travel time of Carbon-14 from the potential repository to the mountain surface: a geochemical model for retardation factors, a coupled gas-flow and heat transfer model for temperature and gas flow fields, and a particle tracker for travel time calculation. The simulations used three parallel, east-west cross-sections that were taken from the Sandia National Laboratories Interactive Graphics Information System (IGIS). Assuming that the repository is filled with 30- year-old waste at an initial areal power density of 57 kw/acre, we found that repository temperatures remain above 60??C for more than 10,000 years. For a tuff permeability of 10-7 cm2, Carbon-14 travel times to the surface are mostly less than 1,000 years, for particles starting at any time within the first 10,000 years. If the tuff permeability is 10-8 cm2, however, Carbon- 14 travel times to the surface range from 3,000 to 12,000 years, for particle starting within the 10,000 years.

Waste Management↗