Beachgoers' responses to beach health advisories.

Drawing on responses from 238 beachgoers who have visited a Georgia (U.S. state) beach in the past three years, this study asks respondents about their knowledge of beach water quality monitoring, awareness of beach health advisories, perception of water quality, and expected responses upon learning of a beach's water pollution advisory. Binomial logistic regression finds that the only demographic predictor of respondents who would completely stop visiting a beach with an advisory is whether the respondent is a visitor or resident (year-round or part-time). Nearly 40% of visitors would not come to a beach with an advisory compared to 13.4% of residents. Most respondents report they would continue to visit a beach but would stay out of the water and stop harvesting seafood from the beach's waters. More than a third (36.1%), however, are unaware Georgia regularly monitors beach water for water quality, and 41.2% have never read a beach sign warning of contaminated water or seafood. Alarmingly, just over half view aesthetic factors such as no litter, no odor, and clear water as criteria for defining whether beach water is safe.

Microplastic and mesoplastic pollution in surface waters and beaches of the Canary Islands: A review.

The Canary Archipelago is a group of volcanic islands located in the North Atlantic Ocean with high marine biodiversity. This archipelago intercepts the Canary Current, the easternmost branch of the Azores Current in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre, which brings large amounts of litter from remote sources via oceanic transportation. It is, therefore, particularly vulnerable to marine plastic pollution. Here, we present a review of the available studies on mesoplastics and microplastics in the Canary Islands over the last decade to evaluate the level and distribution of plastic pollution in this archipelago. Specifically, we focused on data from beaches and surface waters to assess the pollution level among the different islands as well as between windward and leeward zones, and the main characteristics (size, type, colour, and polymer) of the plastics found in the Canary Islands. The concentrations of meso- and MPs on beaches ranged from 1.5 to 2972 items/m2 with a mean of 381 ± 721 items/m2. The concentration of MPs (>200 µm) in surface waters was highly variable with mean values of 998 × 103 ± 3364 × 103 items/km2 and 10 ± 31 items/m3. Plastic pollution in windward beaches was one order of magnitude significantly higher than in leeward beaches. The accumulation of MPs in surface waters was higher in the leeward zones of the high-elevation islands, corresponding to the Special Areas of Conservation (ZECs) and where the presence of marine litter windrows (MLW) has been reported. Microplastic fragments of polyethylene of the colour category "white/clear/uncoloured" were the most common type of plastic reported in both beaches and surface waters. More studies on the occurrence of MLW in ZECS and plastic pollution in the water column and sediments, including small-size fractions (<200 µm), are needed to better assess the level of plastic pollution and its fate in the Canary Islands. Overall, this review confirms that the Canary Archipelago is a hotspot of oceanic plastic pollution, with concentrations of MPs in surface waters in the highest range reported for oceanic islands and one of the highest recorded mean concentrations of beached meso- and microplastics in the world.

Understanding the sources of marine litter in remote islands: The Galapagos islands as a case study.

Determining the sources of marine litter is necessary to mitigate this increasing global problem. Plastic bottles are useful tracers of marine litter and constitute the main item (24%) stranding on remote beaches in the Galapagos Islands. The aim of this study was to estimate the abundance of plastic bottles in remote beaches and inferred their sources. To do so, we collected plastic bottles at 60 remote Galapagos Island beaches from 2018 to 2022. 76% of beaches were qualified as badly polluted, with >34 bottles·100 m-1. Most identified bottles came from Peru (71%), followed by China (17%) and Ecuador (9%). Although most locally-sold products are made in Ecuador, they contribute little to beach litter loads. Polyethylene terephthalate bottles with lid (necessary for litter dispersal) represented 88% of all bottles, demonstrating that most of the litter reaching the Galapagos comes from distant sources, mainly from South America. However, bottle ages indicate that at least 10% of Peruvian, 26% of Ecuadorian, and all Chinese bottles likely were dumped from ships. Reducing marine litter reaching the Galapagos Islands requires tackling litter leakage from land-based sources in South America and better compliance with regulations banning the dumping of plastics and other persistent wastes from ships.

Discernible decline in macroplastic litter inputs to the central eastern Red Sea shoreline during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Plastic debris accumulating on beaches pose a major threat to marine ecosystems. Unexpected events affecting human operations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which prompted governments to implement safety measures and restrictions, can serve as an unplanned investigation of anthropogenic pressure on the marine environment. This study aimed to explore deviations in macroplastic delivery rates to the central eastern Red Sea shoreline during three distinct population mobility periods: before, during, and after COVID-19 restrictions, spanning from January 2019 to June 2022. We observed a 50 % reduction in the estimated macroplastic delivery rates during the lockdown, followed by a 25 % increase after restrictions were eased. Seasonal variations in delivery rates were also observed, with higher values during the winter monsoon. Reduced shoreline litter delivery during the pandemic highlights human operations as a cause of macroplastic litter and suggests the potential of temporary measures to reduce plastic pollution in the coastal environment.

Beached plastic and other anthropogenic debris in the inner Seychelles islands: Results of a citizen science approach.

Masses of plastic and other anthropogenic debris on beaches of inner Seychelles and derived from 53 organised clean-ups have been analysed. Debris and plastic densities ranged from 0.0011 to 0.1622 kg m-2 and 0.0004 to 0.1179 kg m-2, respectively, and data from successive cleans of the same beach resulted in respective median accumulation rates of 0.0293 and 0.0137 g m-2 d-1. There was no dependence of density or accumulation on beach location/aspect or season, but there were significant inverse relationships with beach area. This effect was attributed to most debris and plastic being trapped on the backshore by rocks and vegetation, and the areal proportion of backshore increasing with decreasing beach size. Plastic is derived from local littering and more distal sources, with polyethylene terephthalate bottles, flip-flops and Styrofoam fragments making important contributions. Without intervention and an increased risk of coastal flooding with climate change, beached debris on Seychelles is predicted to increase.

Plastic pollution on Moroccan beaches: Toward baselines for large-scale assessment.

In Africa, Morocco is the 10th largest producer of plastic. The severity of this plastic has attracted increasing amounts of attention in the Moroccan Atlantic and Mediterranean in recent years. However, at the national level, there is limited knowledge of plastic pollution. To obtain an exhaustive and comprehensive evaluation of plastic pollution levels in Morocco, large-scale monitoring is needed on all the coasts of the country. In this context, this paper examined the composition, abundance, distribution, source and quality of beaches on two Moroccan coasts using four beach quality indices along 29 beaches. During two seasons, a total of 72,105 items were counted. The mean litter abundance was 0.31 items/m2, and the Mediterranean beaches were more dense than the Atlantic beaches. In particular, litter density was greater in spring (0.35 items/m2) than in summer (0.29 items/m2). The data indicate considerable differences in the density of marine debris according to the seasonality, beach typology and presence of rivers. Hazardous litter items were collected along both Moroccan coasts, constituting 8.41 % of the total collected items, with a mean of 0.026 items/m2. The use of environmental indices allowed us to classify Moroccan beaches as "moderate cleanliness", "moderate abundance" of plastics, "moderately safe" presence of hazardous litter and "mediocre" environmental status. The findings of the present study indicate that the sources of litter on both Moroccan coasts come mainly from recreational activities and dumping. The waste management practices recommended for Moroccan beaches include reducing sources, mitigating mitigation measures and changing littering behavior.

Environmental predictors of Escherichia coli concentration at marine beaches in Vancouver, Canada: a Bayesian mixed-effects modelling analysis.

Understanding historical environmental determinants associated with the risk of elevated marine water contamination could enhance monitoring marine beaches in a Canadian setting, which can also inform predictive marine water quality models and ongoing climate change preparedness efforts. This study aimed to assess the combination of environmental factors that best predicts Escherichia coli (E. coli) concentration at public beaches in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, by combining the region's microbial water quality data and publicly available environmental data from 2013 to 2021. We developed a Bayesian log-normal mixed-effects regression model to evaluate predictors of geometric E. coli concentrations at 15 beaches in the Metro Vancouver Region. We identified that higher levels of geometric mean E. coli levels were predicted by higher previous sample day E. coli concentrations, higher rainfall in the preceding 48 h, and higher 24-h average air temperature at the median or higher levels of the 24-h mean ultraviolet (UV) index. In contrast, higher levels of mean salinity were predicted to result in lower levels of E. coli. Finally, we determined that the average effects of the predictors varied highly by beach. Our findings could form the basis for building real-time predictive marine water quality models to enable more timely beach management decision-making.

Assessing the impact of banning the single-use plastic carrier bags: a case study for Kenyan marine environment looking at macro, meso, and microplastics.

Poor waste management and unsustainable institutional and individual behaviors, have led to the accumulation of plastic litter in many habitats worldwide. Assessment of plastic pollution in Kenyan marine environment was conducted focusing on the impact of banning the single-use plastic carrier bags in Kenya. The quantification, composition, and distribution of plastics were determined at nine (9) beaches along Kenyan coastline using standing stock method. A total of 750 plastic items were collected and categorized with only 47 pieces being single-use plastic carrier bags. A great number of plastics (n = 383), were identified by their original use, with packaging plastics being the most common (n = 155). Macroplastics were the overall dominant plastics at 76%, mesoplastics, 21% and microplastics, 3%, which were altogether dominated by low-density polyethylene (LDPE) at (46%), followed by polypropylene (PP), 30%; polyethylene tetraphthalate (PET), 9%; polyvinyl chloride (PVC), 8%; and polystyrene (PS), 7%. The absence of identifiable single-use plastic carrier bags in 6 out of 9 beaches signified the effectiveness of the ban in Kenya. Monitoring of trends and sources of plastic debris is encouraged to help enhance the science-policy linkage aimed at reducing marine plastic pollution.

Assessment of marine litter on the Fields Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica.

The study presents the results of the survey of beached litter on the two opposite shores of the Fields Peninsula (King George Island) conducted during the austral summer seasons of 2022 and 2023, as part of the 67th and 68th Russian Antarctic expeditions. Beaches situated on the coast of the Drake Passage were much more polluted compared to the beaches on the Maxwell Bay side. Plastic accounted for 86 % of all found items on the shores of the Drake Passage, with the majority of items related to fisheries or shipping. On the Maxwell Bay beaches, only 36 % of litter was plastic, with other categories like wood and metal dominating the total number. The average density of marine litter is 0.32 items/m (0.017 items/m2), comparable to other similar surveys conducted on Antarctic islands; however, this is at least 15-20 times lower than beach litter densities in the Arctic.

A new Bayesian approach for managing bathing water quality at river bathing locations vulnerable to short-term pollution.

Short-term fecal pollution events are a major challenge for managing microbial safety at recreational waters. Long turn-over times of current laboratory methods for analyzing fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) delay water quality assessments. Data-driven models have been shown to be valuable approaches to enable fast water quality assessments. However, a major barrier towards the wider use of such models is the prevalent data scarcity at existing bathing waters, which questions the representativeness and thus usefulness of such datasets for model training. The present study explores the ability of five data-driven modelling approaches to predict short-term fecal pollution episodes at recreational bathing locations under data scarce situations and imbalanced datasets. The study explicitly focuses on the potential benefits of adopting an innovative modeling and risk-based assessment approach, based on state/cluster-based Bayesian updating of FIB distributions in relation to different hydrological states. The models are benchmarked against commonly applied supervised learning approaches, particularly linear regression, and random forests, as well as to a zero-model which closely resembles the current way of classifying bathing water quality in the European Union. For model-based clustering we apply a non-parametric Bayesian approach based on a Dirichlet Process Mixture Model. The study tests and demonstrates the proposed approaches at three river bathing locations in Germany, known to be influenced by short-term pollution events. At each river two modelling experiments ("longest dry period", "sequential model training") are performed to explore how the different modelling approaches react and adapt to scarce and uninformative training data, i.e., datasets that do not include event pollution information in terms of elevated FIB concentrations. We demonstrate that it is especially the proposed Bayesian approaches that are able to raise correct warnings in such situations (> 90 % true positive rate). The zero-model and random forest are shown to be unable to predict contamination episodes if pollution episodes are not present in the training data. Our research shows that the investigated Bayesian approaches reduce the risk of missed pollution events, thereby improving bathing water safety management. Additionally, the approaches provide a transparent solution for setting minimum data quality requirements under various conditions. The proposed approaches open the way for developing data-driven models for bathing water quality prediction against the reality that data scarcity is common problem at existing and prospective bathing waters.

Exposure to UV Radiation in Lifeguards on Barcelona's Beaches: An Underestimated Occupational Risk. / [Artículo traducido] Exposición a radiación ultravioleta en socorristas de las playas de Barcelona: un riesgo laboral infravalorado.

BACKGROUND: The development of skin cancer is closely related to high exposure to UV radiation. Lifeguards are at an increased risk of excessive sun exposure. OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this study was to measure the exposure of Barcelona's beach lifeguards to UV radiation. METHODS: Measurements in the work chair were taken every 30min on a typical working day from 10:45 am to 19:15 pm. These measurements were carried out on four different days. These data were used to calculate the erythematous doses received during working hours, as well as those potentially received throughout the summer season. Vitamin D production was also estimated for the four days that the radiation received was measured, and the amount generated was calculated for the entire summer season. RESULTS: Exposure to UV radiation among Barcelona lifeguards far exceeds safety limits. In some locations, the exposure to UVB radiation is more than 16 times the minimum erythematous dose for phototype II skin. LIMITATIONS: This study assessed the radiation received during only four days. However, is a much higher number than most of the published papers. CONCLUSION: Although the health risks of excessive exposure to UV radiation are known, Barcelona's beach lifeguards are insufficiently protected.

Anthropogenic litter in a Mediterranean coastal wetland: A heterogeneous spatial pattern of historical deposition.

Coastal wetlands represent areas that can testify historical accumulation of litter. We analyzed the anthropogenic litter deposited on the channel bottom of a coastal wetland area that experienced water stress due to extreme summer dryness after about 20 years. We hypothesize that the litter accumulated in the different areas over the years reflects the different social user categories (i.e., fishermen, beach users, hunters) and exposure to meteo-marine events. Our findings highlight that historically accumulated litter is composed of plastics (78.8 %), clothes (8.9 %), and glass (4.9 %). Moreover, litter concentration averages 53.6 items/ha in the 8 sectors. The most found categories were common household items (25.4 %), diverse (professional and consumer) items (24.2 %), and food and beverages packaging (21.4 %). Finally, litter diversity indices and the Detrended Correspondence Analysis showed sector and litter type similarities. We reported for the first time the presence of litter accumulated for 20 years testifying non-more occurring recreational activities.

Tracing beach litter sources: Drink lids tell a different story from their bottles.

Water and soft drink bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sink at sea unless they contain trapped air, whereas their lids are made from polymers that float and can drift long distances. We sampled loose lids and bottles at 21 South African beaches to compare their origins. The proportions of foreign-made bottles and lids were correlated, and increased away from urban centres, indicating that much land-based litter strands close to source areas. Over 80 % of foreign-made drink bottles and 90 % of lids came from Asia, but most bottles were manufactured in China, Malaysia-Singapore and the UAE, and were dumped from ships. By comparison, most loose lids were in poor condition after being carried across the Indian Ocean from Indonesia by the South Equatorial Current. Reducing PET drink bottles at sea requires enforcement of regulations banning dumping at sea, whereas reducing their lids requires better control of littering in source countries.

Persistence of 'wet wipes' in beach sand: An unrecognised reservoir for localised E. coli contamination.

The flushing of wet wipes down toilets leads to blockages of sewerage systems. This, together with unregulated sewage discharge, often results in increasing numbers of wet wipes washing up onto beaches. However, it is unclear how long wet wipes can persist on the beach and whether they pose a prolonged public health risk if contaminated by E. coli. In this mesocosm study, three types of wet wipes (plastic containing, and home and commercially compostable) colonised with E. coli were buried in beach sand and their degradation, tensile strength, and concentration of E. coli was quantified over 15 weeks. Wet wipes containing plastic remained largely intact for 15 weeks, whilst both compostable wet wipes fragmented and degraded. Importantly, E. coli persisted on all three wet wipe types, representing localised reservoirs of E. coli in the sand, which could present a human health risk at the beach.

Impact of beach wrack on microorganisms associated with faecal pollution at the Baltic Sea Sandy beaches.

We investigated whether higher quantities of faecal indicator bacteria (FIB) are in the areas with red algae-dominated wrack compared to areas without it and if the birds are the primary source of faecal pollution on sandy beaches of the Baltic Sea. Water, sand and wrack samples were collected during the recreational season, and abundances of FIB, HF183 (human faecal pollution) and GFD (bird faecal pollution) markers, as well as the presence of Salmonella and Campylobacter, were assessed. Significantly higher levels of Enterococcus spp. were found in the wrack accumulation areas in water and sand than in the areas without wrack when there was a faecal pollution event, which could be explained by entrapment and changed physico-chemical water conditions. Both faecal pollution markers were identified, however, with no apparent pattern. Campylobacter bacteria were identified in the wrack-affected water, sand, and beach wrack. While this research provides valuable insights into beach wrack serving as a reservoir for FIB, further investigations, including multi-day samplings, are necessary to gain a deeper understanding of the long-term dynamics of microbiota within red algae-dominated wrack.

Abundance and distribution of marine litter on the beaches of Okinawa Island, Japan.

This study evaluated the distribution and abundance of marine litter on 30 beaches around Okinawa Island, Japan. Beach quality indices and multivariate statistical analyses were used to assess the quality of the beaches and their pollution patterns. A total of 11,626 items weighing 513.49 kg with an average density of 0.13 ± 0.10 items/m2 were collected. Litter was dominated by plastics (81.72 %), broken glass (8.38 %), and cigarette butts (7.44 %), and 74.05 % of total litter was from land-based sources. Single-use plastics (SUPs) were present in all surveyed beaches and made up 30.54 % of the total litter. The clean coast index (CCI), plastic abundance index (PAI), and hazardous index (HI) were between 0.1 and 7.6, 0.1-4.0 and 0.01-1.42, respectively, indicating low to moderate levels of pollution of Okinawan beaches. This study should aid in the formation of strategies to deal with marine litter in Okinawa, other areas of Japan and the Asia-Pacific region.

Lost and found: Patterns of marine litter accumulation on the remote Island of Santa Luzia, Cabo Verde.

Santa Luzia, an uninhabited island in the archipelago of Cabo Verde, serves as a natural laboratory and important nesting site for loggerhead turtles Carettacaretta. The island constitutes an Integral Natural Reserve and a Marine Protected Area. We assessed marine litter accumulation on sandy beaches of the island and analysed their spatial patterns using two sampling methods: at a fine scale, sand samples from 1 × 1 m squares were collected, identifying debris larger than 1 mm; at a coarse scale, drone surveys were conducted to identify visible marine debris (>25 mm) in aerial images. We sampled six points on three beaches of the island: Achados (three points), Francisca (two points) and Palmo Tostão (one point). Then, we modelled the abundance of marine debris using topographical variables as explanatory factors, derived from digital surface models (DSM). Our findings reveal that the island is a significant repository for marine litter (>84% composed of plastics), with up to 917 plastic items per m2 in the sand samples and a maximum of 38 macro-debris items per m2 in the drone surveys. Plastic fragments dominate, followed by plastic pellets (at the fine-scale approach) and fishing materials (at the coarse-scale approach). We observed that north-facing, higher-elevation beaches accumulate more large marine litter, while slope and elevation affect their spatial distribution within the beach. Achados Beach faces severe marine debris pollution challenges, and the upcoming climate changes could exacerbate this problem.

Environmental variables and its association with faecal coliform at Madh Island beaches of megacity Mumbai, India.

The abundance of fecal-indicating bacteria in water bodies are said to be influenced by environmental conditions. The effect of environmental parameters on the changing microbial population plays an important role in coastal water quality assessment. It's crucial to comprehend these patterns in order to support management initiatives for pollution control. There are studies on faecal bacteria contamination of surface water and how environmental conditions affect it, however majority of them are based on large river basins and temperate regions of developed countries. In this paper, we study the different physicochemical and physical factors of the five recreational beaches in Mumbai, India and examine how these environmental factors affect the levels of faecal indicating bacteria, namely, coliforms in the region. A relatively high number of coliform was identified from the water and sediment samples of Marve Beach (>1600 MP N/100 ml or g), followed by Erangal Beach and Danapani Beach (∼150-350 MP N/100 ml or g), exceeding the normal standard limits of <100 MP N/100 ml set by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India. Of the physiochemical parameters examined, BOD showed to have a strong positive correlation with the coliform bacteria. The nutrients and heavy metal concentrations did not show any major effect on the microbial population. The MIKE CMAP predicted tide, MIKE3 Flow Model FM simulated coastal current, ERA5 hourly wind, as well as SWAN model simulated nearshore wave together considerably exhibit alliance of microbial behavior in the beaches with ambient physical processes. This study reveals that Mumbai's coastal water contain significant concentrations of faecal bacteria, which, if not monitored regularly could have future consequences on the recreational activities of the region, thereby on public health. This assessment might help in simulation of water quality prediction, and for optimizing the coastal zone management and development across recreational beaches.

From the closet to the shore: Fashion waste pollution on Colombian Central Caribbean beaches.

This paper examines the environmental effects of fashion waste on the central Caribbean coast of Colombia, highlighting significant ecological issues in coastal areas. A survey of 27 beaches found 503 items of fashion waste, mainly shoes and sandals, with an average density of 0.93 items/m2. The distribution of this type of waste varies notably across different beach types, with exposed, rural, and remote beaches showing higher accumulation, indicating a relationship between beach characteristics and waste concentration. Primary sources of this waste include riverine transport, coastal tourism, and poorly managed sewage systems, impacting urban, rural, and village beaches differently. The study reveals that longshore currents and oceanic movements, significantly influence the transport and fate of this waste, with exposed beaches accumulating more fashion waste than sheltered ones. The presence of driftwood also plays a vital role in trapping fashion waste along coastlines. The findings highlight the need for effective management strategies to mitigate the impact of fashion waste, providing crucial insights for local and national coastal managers and implications for managing fashion waste in the Southern Caribbean and similar regions worldwide.

Identification of Playa Lakes and tracking their evolution pathways using geochemical models in the Great Indian Thar desert.

Playa Lakes of the great Indian Thar desert are unique and intricate systems with pronounced scientific and ecological significance. In this study, the combined use of geospatial and field data assisted in depicting and understanding the changes within these natural systems. The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive dataset of Playa Lakes, which can help with an overall understanding of playas from a geochemical, ecological, and economic perspective. The 1163 surface depressions were accounted for as possible playas considering the threshold area of >5 km2. A total of 42 representative surface water samples were collected from the selected playas (Sambhar, Didwana, Pachpadra, and Pokhran) and hydrochemical analysis was carried out to identify the geochemical evolution of these playas. The major water types were Na-Cl and Na-Cl-SO4 type. Hardie and Eugster's model was used to explain the possible sequence of evolutionary pathways and brine shifts in the selected playas. Simulated evaporation modeling suggests precipitation of major evaporites (chlorides, carbonates, and sulphates) during progressive evaporation. Surface sediment analysis (X-ray diffraction) confirmed the presence of calcite, halite, and dolomite minerals in the playa sediments. The greatest economic value of these playas may be mineral production and providing food and habitat for migratory birds, though conservation and policy intervention is required for their sustainable utilization.