title: Floating debris in the Ligurian Sea, north-western Mediterranean.
abstract: Results from visual sightings of large floating debris are presented, taken in the Ligurian Sea, a sub-basin of the north-western Mediterranean Sea which belongs to the recently stated "Cetacean Sanctuary". Data have been collected during three oceanographic cruises, during the summer of 1997 and 2000. Results for the 1997 data suggest a debris density of the order of 15-25 objects km(-2), while for the 2000 data, a lower density of the order of 3-1.5 objects km(-2) is found. The difference between the two results appears statistically significant using simple tests. Possible reasons for the observed variability are discussed, including meteorological forcing, marine currents and debris input variability.
authors.affiliation: Sezione Oceanografia Fisica, Istituto Scienze del Mare, CNR, Forte di S Teresa, 19036 (SP), Pozzuolo di Lerici, Italy. stefano.aliani@sp.ismar.cnr.it
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aliani
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Griffa
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Molcard
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D010969:Plastics; D012037:Refuse Disposal; D014872:Water Movements; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014919:Wind
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics; D014873:Water Pollutants