북서태평양지역의 부유해양쓰레기 분포에 대한 이해

Abstract

Marine litter is human-created waste originated from land-based and sea-based activities and is considered as one of the major pollutants that causes negative impacts on the marine environment as well as economics. Floating marine litter is estimated that approximately 80% of marine litter is caused by land-based activities whereas the sea-based activities account for only 20%. When marine litter enters into the ocean, it can travel large distances by ocean currents and winds to land and beaches or accumulate on open oceans. As such, it can lead to a serious transboundary issue.

In this regards, NOWPAP MERRAC initiated the project together with the national experts of the four NOWPAP member states (People’s Republic of China, Japan, Republic of Korea, and Russian Federation) under the frame of the NOWPAP Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter (RAP MALI). Through the studies which have already been carried out assessing the trajectories of floating marine litter in other region, it was found out that the floating marine litter could travel long distance either to reach a shoreline or to the convergent zones due to the airflows or ocean currents. Accordingly, it is important tounderstand the major ocean currents in the NOWPAP region as well. In this study, NOWPAP member states monitored the distribution of marine litter in their respective territories. As a result, polystyrene foam and plastic waste were highly a