Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, Available Online 28 May 2013
Kyra Schlining, Susan von Thun, Linda Kuhnz, Brian Schlining, Lonny Lundsten, Nancy Jacobsen Stout, Lori Chaney, and Judith Connor
“Anthropogenic marine debris is an increasing concern because of its potential negative impacts on marine ecosystems. This is a global problem that will have lasting effects for many reasons, including: 1) the input of debris into marine environments is likely to continue (commensurate with population increase and globalization), 2) accumulation, and possibly retention, of debris will occur in specific areas due to hydrography and geomorphology, and 3) the most common types of debris observed to date will likely persist for centuries. Due to the technical challenges and prohibitive costs of conducting research in the deep sea, little is known about the abundance, types, sources, and impacts of human refuse on this vast habitat, and the extreme depths to which this debris is penetrating has only recently been exposed.
![Examples of marine debris items observed on MBARI ROV dives: (a) aluminum can, 1,529 m at Axial Seamount; (b) plastic chip bag, 3,506 m in Monterey Canyon; (c) rope crab pot “ghost fishing”, 1,091 m in Astoria Canyon; (d) plastic bag wrapped around a deep-sea gorgonian, 2,115 m in Astoria Canyon; (e) lost fishing rope, 999 m in Monterey Canyon; (f) foreign glass soda bottle, 1,727 m at Davidson Seamount; (g) shoe with rockfish, 472 m in San Gabriel Canyon; (h) tire with rockfish, anemone, and sea cucumber, 868 m in Monterey Canyon; (i) cardboard (paper) with an undescribed species of the sponge Hyalonema, 3950 m offshore of Santa Barbara. [COLOR].](http://gisandscience.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/marine_debris.jpg?w=600&h=406)
Examples of marine debris items observed on MBARI ROV dives: (a) aluminum can, 1,529 m at Axial Seamount; (b) plastic chip bag, 3,506 m in Monterey Canyon; (c) rope crab pot “ghost fishing”, 1,091 m in Astoria Canyon; (d) plastic bag wrapped around a deep-sea gorgonian, 2,115 m in Astoria Canyon; (e) lost fishing rope, 999 m in Monterey Canyon; (f) foreign glass soda bottle, 1,727 m at Davidson Seamount; (g) shoe with rockfish, 472 m in San Gabriel Canyon; (h) tire with rockfish, anemone, and sea cucumber, 868 m in Monterey Canyon; (i) cardboard (paper) with an undescribed species of the sponge Hyalonema, 3950 m offshore of Santa Barbara. [COLOR].
Filed under: Environmental Science, GIS
