Beach litter composition, distribution patterns and annual budgets on Novaya Zemlya archipelago, Russian Arctic

• Published in: Marine pollution bulletin 2024-07, Vol.204, p.116517, Article 116517
• Main Authors: Ershova, Alexandra, Vorotnichenko, Ekaterina, Gordeeva, Svetlana, Ruzhnikova, Nina, Trofimova, Anna
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accumulation; Arctic Regions; Bathing Beaches; Beach litter budgets; Eastern Barents Sea; Environmental Monitoring; Marine litter; Novaya Zemlya archipelago; Plastics - analysis; Russia
• ISSN: 0025-326X; 1879-3363; 1879-3363
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116517

Beached macrolitter (>2,5 cm) abundance and composition in the Russian (Eastern) part of the Barents Sea and the adjacent part of the Kara Sea was assessed for 2021–2023. Average densities of beach litter on the coasts are 675 items/100 m and 37 kg/100 m (0.27 items/m2 and 0.015 kg/m2). Annual litter budgets for Cape Zhelaniya beaches are 0.49 items/m2 per year and 0.023 kg/m2 per year. The northernmost tip of Novaya Zemlya is shown to be a beach litter accumulation hot-spot on Novaya Zemlya archipelago, where litter is brought by surface currents and trapped by sea ice margins. Up to 80 % of beached marine macrolitter is made of plastics, originating from vessels. A certain accumulation strip of a beach was identified (14 m - 27.5 m distance from the waterline), and significance of the beach backshore was shown in litter accumulation. Beach litter accounting methodologies on the Arctic beaches are discussed. •Beach litter densities on Novaya Zemlya are slightly lower than on Svalbard.•Annual beach litter budgets are 0.49 items/m2 per year and 0.023 kg/m2 per year.•Top-three categories are plastic fragments, fishing gear and strapping bands.•Macrolitter sources in the Eastern Barents Sea are maritime and fisheries activities.