الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Accumulation of ML in water bodies has recently become one of the most prominent global problems affecting the good environmental status (GES) of the seas and oceans. The pollution of ML in coastal areas resulted mainly from unsustainable anthropogenic activities, increasing population growth, irrational development, illegal practices, and the improper management of solid waste. ML could pose several environmental, economic, and social risks that severely impact ecosystems, marine biodiversity, human health, and economic development. In addition to the threats of the micro-plastic litter to marine wildlife due to its dangers and difficulty to monitor and manage. Vulnerable locations along the Egyptian Northern coastal and marine areas are seriously affected by the abundance and accumulation of ML that could affect their economic and recreational values. However, the absence of accurate, comparable scientific data on ML quantity and trends at national, and regional levels is still the main management challenge. This study focused on examining and verifying a scientific-based methodology for monitoring, and assessment of ML accumulation, fate, and trajectory. El-Shatby Beach in Alexandria Governorate was selected as a pilot case study along the Egyptian Northern coastal areas. The applied methodology could be summarized as follows: 1- Field monitoring of the accumulation of macro-litter (greater than 2.5 cm), assessment of ML types, quantities, top five items, and the main ML sources. 2- Identification of ML potential trajectory under the influence of wind, and surface currents in El-Shatby beach. 3- Monitoring the presence of plastic ML on the beach and floating at the sea surface using the RS technique. 4- Tracking the pathways, and fate of floating ML at the sea surface under the influence of different movers using trajectory modeling (GNOME model). 5- Analysis of the main socio-economic drivers of ML accumulation using the DPSIR Framework. 6- Identifying the main points of strength and weakness for minimizing ML negative impacts using SWOT analysis. Six main chapters were included in this study, chapter one gave a general background of the ML pollution, problem statement, study objectives, study approach, thesis structure, and the time frame. The chapter ended with describing the contents of each chapter in the thesis. Chapter two contained a review of the relevant literature and previous studies including ML definition, sources, and materials of ML, fate, distribution of ML, adverse impacts of ML on living organisms, environment, human health, and economy. The chapter included also recently applied methodologies for monitoring and tracking of ML using remote sensing techniques and mathematical models. The chapter ended with concluding remarks of the 97 previous research that support the methodology of this study. Chapter Three gave a described of the study area including the geographical location of Alexandria Governorate and El-Shatby Beach, administrative division, marine habitats and biodiversity, the main economic activities in the study area, solid waste in Alexandria Governorate, laws and international conventions related to ML reduction, monitoring, and management. The chapter ends with presenting key, primary, and secondary stakeholders that have significant influence in minimizing ML in Alexandria Governorate and proper management of solid waste. Chapter Four contained a description of the applied methodology in this study including fieldwork surveys of beach macro-litter, remote sensing different techniques used monitoring of plastic ML at the sea surface and on the beach, and trajectory model GNOME for tracking ML paths and movement. The chapter ended by addressing the assessment approach of DPSIR framework and SWOT analysis. Chapter Five contained the results and discussions of the study including results of fieldwork analysis, RS techniques, GNOME trajectory model. The chapter ended with the results of SWOT analysis, DPSIR framework that support the development of policies to reduce its accumulation, and a discussion of these results from a scientific point of view. Chapter six included the main conclusion, and suggested recommendations of the study. The thesis ended with a list of references that were used to conduct the research, then a summary in Arabic language. Field surveys showed artificial polymers were the maximum (72%), worked wood (2%) was the minimum, while glass/ceramics counted as zero. Reinforcing rocks located at the left side of the study area, the vegetation strips distributed along the coastline, and rocks located at the backside close to El-corniche are traps for discarded litter and fishing nets. The overall accuracy of plastic identification using remote sensing techniques reached about 70-80% which proves the potential of using this methodology for the detection of discriminated plastic litter along the Egyptian Northern coastal areas under specific climatic conditions. Locations identified by GNOME model that have a great potential for litter accumulation were the public and private beaches adjacent to El-Shatby beach, basins of Western and Eastern harbors, and Abu-Qir bay. The backward simulation showed that litter could be transported to El-Shatby from a distance that could reach 107 km. The results of this study could be considered an important tool to support decision-makers in improving the collection, clean-up, safe disposal, and management practices of ML. |