We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
The spatiotemporal dynamics, distribution, and characteristics of beached plastics along the remote south coast of Western Australia
Summary
A survey of beached plastics along the remote south coast of Western Australia found that white, hard microplastics dominate, consistent with global patterns. Plastic density was estimated at about 2 items per square meter. The study confirms that even remote coastlines accumulate microplastic pollution, likely transported by ocean currents from distant sources.
Understanding the accumulation mechanism for beached plastics is important for marine debris research. Similar to the global accumulation pattern for beached plastics, we find that along the remote south coast of Western Australia (SCWA) white, hard, microplastics dominate the microplastic pollution accumulating on beaches. We estimate that along the SCWA, plastics are present at a density of 2.01 items·m, but also find that the density of plastic pollution is higher at the eastern end of bays. Significantly fewer plastics were found after easterly winds (austral summer-prevailing winds), and regional physical ocean process, including the Leeuwin Current, and the Ekman transport effect may be relevant to the rate of plastic accumulation on SCWA beaches.