Monitoring the state

Characterization of seabed macrolitter and their impacts on flora/fauna observed during ROV operations.Testing methods and BIIGLE annotation software

Responsible Partner: ARDITI & IFREMER
Date: August 2023
Download: Link 
Description:This study is focused on advancing methods to monitor the distribution of seafloor litter and interactions with sessile organisms using ROV and underwater video annotation. Results of this study include a critical assessment of: i) video based surveys and monitoring, including considerations and limitations of ROV operations and data acquisition, and; ii) image processing and analysis using BIIGLE and common annotation referentials. Findings included in this report and outputs of this study (e.g. guidelines, future peer-reviewed publications) are also expected to contribute to improve seafloor litter monitoring and survey methods and in determining D10C4 MSFD indicator, currently under development..

Integration of UAS surveys in marine litter monitoring of coastal and remote areas

Responsible Partner: ARDITI, DRAAC
Date: August 2023
Download: Link 
Description: this report focused in assessing the use of UAS remote sensing and tested a workflow that can be easily implemented and upscaled by authorities, managers, NGOs and other stakeholders. The goal was to provide a guideline and suggestions for easy integration of UAS surveys independently or to complement in situ monitoring and sampling that can be used to map marine litter concentration in remote areas and/or in wider areas beyond the in situ sampling area.

Monitoring the presence of marine litter in the marine environment

Responsible Partner: ARDITI
Date: Octubre 2021
Download: Link 
Description: This report describes the efforts and advances made within the CleanAtlantic project towards the use of UAS-based Remote Sensing to monitor floating litter, including: i) general operational and processing constraints; ii) custom designed case study used to assess different processing options for RGB aerial imagery; iii) considerations and limitations of using UAS-based remote sensing for floating litter monitoring, and; iv) recommendations towards the implementation of UAS-based remote sensing protocols and monitoring programs.

Overview of the work carried out in CleanAtlantic on improving marine litter monitoring: WP 5.2.1. – Improving methods for marine litter monitoring in the Atlantic Area: seabed, floating and coastal litter; WP 5.2.2. – New tools for the monitoring of marine litter

Responsible Partner: IEO
Date: Diciembre 2021
Download: Link 
Description:This report collates the main results delivered in the frame of the CleanAtlantic project, Work package 5.2. Monitoring the presence of marine litter in the marine environment. With this  purpose, an overview of new and improved marine litter monitoring methods for seabed, water surface and coastal compartments in the Atlantic Area is presented. Main findings, gaps on monitoring and research as well as potential improvements and recommendations are highlighted. For some of the topics addressed partners produced fully-dedicated reports. In these cases, links to the original reports are included in the reference section for further information.

Optimized protocol and template for monitoring floating macrolitter by scientific observers onboard research vessels

Responsible Partner: IEO
Date: September 2021
Download: Link 
Description: This document includes the updated version of the protocol and templates used for monitoring floating macrolitter. These data are recorded along with the monitoring of apex predators. In the frame of the CleanAtlantic project the existent protocol and record sheets were adapted and improved so that they can be used as standard tools for any observer regardless the specificities of the research vessel or institution, and also to facilitate the work of the observers.

Monitoring floating microlitter in offshore waters by manta-trawl (collaboration with iFADO project)

Responsible Partner: IEO
Date: September 2021
Download: Link 
Description: In collaboration with iFADO project 10 samples from Galician offshore waters (NW Iberian Peninsula) were collected by means of a manta-trawl net for microlitter categorization. The results obtained in this work suggest a moderate microlitter density in both coastal and offshore stations. The average of item density for the whole sample collection was 0.0089 ± 0.0091 item/m2 or 0.0446 ± 0.0455 item/m3. Fragments found were abundant in both coastal and offshore stations and were mainly composed by particles with sizes smaller than 1 mm and predominance of green colour.

Spatial and temporal variability in floating litter in North Sea / English Channel and Bay of Biscay / Celtic Sea 2015-2020

Responsible Partner: Ifremer
Date:  December 2021
Download: Link to report
Description: Study on the spatial and temporal variability of floating litter in the North Sea / English Channel and Bay of Biscay / Celtic Sea, based on data collected from the implementation of the monitoring program of macro marine-litter in the French Atlantic area in 2015 untill 2020.

Development of sustainable tools (Database and software) for Marine Litter Data management

Responsible Partner: Ifremer
Date: Diciembre 2021
Download: Link 
Description: Report describing the development of a database and specific software for the Marine Litter Data management.

Analysis of strategies for the monitoring and evaluation of accumulations of marine litter on the coast

Responsible Partner: INTECMAR
Date: Octubre 2021
Download: English, Spanish
Description: This study aims to analyze different strategies for the location of areas of accumulation of Marine litter that can be incorporated into monitoring, cleaning, and collection protocols.

Assessment of seabed litter data recorded by scientific observers onboard fishing vessels

Responsible Partner: IEO
Date: Oct 2020
Download: Link 
Description: This report aims to assess information sampled by scientific observers on board fishing vessels to monitor marine litter, predominantly seabed litter.

Assessment between trawl gears baka and GOV for the study of seabed litter

Responsible Partner: IEO
Date: Nov 2020
Download: PDF and DATA
Description: This report aims to assess if there are differences on catchability of seabed litter between the two gears used on the ground fish surveys in the French and Spanish shelves. Baka is the gear used as a sampler in the demersal trawl surveys conducted by the Instituto Español de Oceanografía and the GOV (Grand Overture Vertical) is the standard gear used as a sampler in the ICES area in the demersal trawls surveys carried out by IFREMER and other research institutes in the North of Europe.

Strategy and constraints to support monitoring of Marine Litter Harm: Towards a protocol for the observation of marine organisms entangled/strangled/covered by marine litter during ROV operations

Responsible Partner: Ifremer
Date: Aug 2020
Download: PDF
Description: The objective of this report is to review the possible strategies and constraints for monitoring the impact of marine litter in the OSPAR region and to assess the potential of a new indicator of entanglement. Thie report is the result of the research performed within CleanAtlantic, taking advantage of the work done previously by OSPAR, UNEP MAP (Barcelona convention), EU MSFD Technical Group on Marine Litter (TGML) and some EU projects like INDICIT (EU wide), Actions for Marine Protected Areas (AMAre -Mediterranean Sea, https://amare.interreg-med.eu), and Plastic Busters in Marine Protected Areas PBMPA -Mediterranean Sea, https://plasticbustersmpas.interreg-med.eu).

Monitoring the presence of marine litter in the marine environment: potential of remote sensing

Responsible Partner: CEFAS
Date: October 2019
Download: Report
Description: This report focus on the potential of satellites to develop and improve monitoring methods of marine litter. More specifically, it assess the feasibility of Sentinel 2 data in identifying plastic litter hotspots; investigates what the spectral ranges of polymers using Sentinel 2 data are; and proposes a method of plastic litter hotspots identification.

Drones for litter monitoring on coasts and rivers: suitable flight altitude and image resolution

Responsible Partner: ARDITI
Date: July 2023
Download:  Link to publication
Description: Multirotor drones can be efficiently used to monitor macro-litter in coastal and riverine environments. Litter on beaches, dunes and riverbanks, along with floating litter on coastal and river waters, can be spotted and mapped from aerial drone images. Items detection and classification are prone to image resolution, which is expressed in terms of Ground Sampling Distance (GSD). The GSD is determined by drone flight altitude and camera properties. This paper investigates what is a suitable GSD value for litter survey.

The seasonal cycle of micro and meso-plastics in surface waters in a coastal environment (Ría de Vigo, NW Spain)

Responsible Partner: IEO Vigo
Date: January 2022
Download:  Link to publication
Description: In this study, micro and mesoplastics were determined for the first time in seawater in Ría de Vigo (Spain) identifying their concentration, annual cycle, size, shape and polymer composition. Besides, temporal variations at an annual scale were also established.

Floating Litter Reporter: facilitating litter monitoring for maritime stakeholders

Responsible Partner: ARDITI
Date: May 2021
Download: Link 
Description: Report describing the App Floating Litter Reporter. This tool was specifically designed to encourage citizen communities to make available relevant data while generating more consciousness at the local level on marine litter.

Seafloor litter App for CEFAS Scientist

Responsible Partner: CEFAS
Date: 08/06/2021
Download: Link
Description: Report describing the App developed by CEFAS. The primary use for the app is for Cefas scientists on board the RV Cefas Endeavour to reduce the use of paper log sheets, streamline the data entry and reduce the time associated with data QC. Therefore, the main focus of the app requirements was based on the Cefas method of seafloor litter logging, which follows the ICES guideline for sampling and the OSPAR categories for seafloor litter, as much of the data is submitted annually to DATRAS.

Marine litter LOC-app

Responsible Partner: INTECMAR
Date: January 2020
Download: Installation Manual, User Manual, Administrator Manual, Annex: Diagram of the data base, APK and server software.
Description: In the framework of CleanAtlantic project, the Technological Institute for the Marine Environment Monitoring of Galicia (INTECMAR) developed the mobile application Marine Litter LOC-app with the objective of facilitate and homogenizate data collection of marine litter pilled-up areas along the coast.
Marine Litter LOC-app allows geolocalizate the zones of accumulation, their characteristics and dimensions, add pictures and comments, as well as collect specific information about the marine litter. Marine Litter LOC- app was created with the purpose of being used during managed monitoring sessions where a coordinator (with the profile of Administrator) must previously choose those sector that will be monitored and must assign each sector to whom will collect data (with the profile of User).

Are you talking about marine plastic pollution? An exploratory analysis of two years of Twitter conversations

Responsible Partner: IEO
Date & event: 14-18 November 2022, MICRO2022 Plastic pollution from macro to nano
Download: Abstract
Description: Twitter is a good place to observe citizen concerns about environmental issues, including marine ones. To determine who, where, when, and for what reason marine plastic pollution is discussed, a data visualization dashboard called Twilitter was developed. Knowing these data can be vitally important in aligning the messages of the institutions responsible for environmental protection with the interests and way of expressing themselves of the general public.

The seasonal cycle of micro and meso-plastics in surface waters in a coastal environment (Ría de Vigo, NW Spain)

Responsible Partner: IEO
Date & event: 14-18 November 2022, MICRO2022 Plastic pollution from macro to nano
Download: Abstract
Description: In this study, micro and mesoplastics were determined for the first time in seawater in Ría de Vigo (Spain) identifying their concentration, size, shape and polymer composition. Besides, temporal variations at an annual scale were also established. 

Vertical distribution of microplastics in marine sediments.

Responsible Partner: IEO
Date & event: 14-18 November 2022, MICRO2022 Plastic pollution from macro to nano
Download: Abstract
Description: In this work, the distribution of MPs from an intertidal sediment core of 50 cm was obtained. This distribution can give a view of the evolution of MPs concentrations over time as markers of the Anthropocene.

What Is the Potential of Satellite Data in Mapping Plastic Litter Hotspots?

Responsible Partner: CEFAS
Date & event: 23rd – 25th January 2019, Atlantic from Space Conference (ESA) in Southampton, UK.
Download: Abstract and poster.
Description: Lenka Fronkova from CEFAS, presented this work that deals with the use of satellite data to developing cost effective, re-peatable and fast methods that estimate the marine litter amount in and its distribution.