A belt transect setting strategy for mark-recapture experiments to evaluate the 1D diffusion coefficient of beached litter in the cross-shore direction. Issue 1 (15th August 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hinata, Hirofumi; Kataoka, Tomoya
• Is Part Of: Marine pollution bulletin. Volume 109:Issue 1(2016:Aug.)
• Page Start: 490
• Page End: 494
• Publication Date: 2016-08-15
• Subjects: Residence time -- Diffusion coefficient -- Nearshore current -- Mark-recapture experiment -- Backwash flux; Marine pollution -- Periodicals; Marine Biology -- Periodicals; Water Pollution -- Periodicals; Mer -- Pollution -- Périodiques; Publications périodiques; Pollution des mers; Lutte antipollution; Electronic journals; 363.7394
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.05.016
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0025-326X

Abstract

Abstract: We propose a belt transect setting strategy for mark-recapture experiments (MREs) to evaluate the time-independent 1D diffusion coefficient (〈 D p 0 〉) of marine litter in the cross-shore direction that determines the backwashing flux of the litter, based on two-year MREs for plastic floats (PFs) on Wadahama Beach, Nii-jima Island, Japan. When the alongshore width of the belt transect ( L t ) was of the order of, or longer than, the length scale of wave-induced nearshore current circulation ( L c ), the PFs were rarely transported alongshore across the selected transects prior to being backwashed offshore. Thus, the transect residence time became longer and showed a much weaker dependence on the transect position, in contrast to when L t was even shorter than L c . We therefore obtained the diffusion coefficients close to the value of (〈 D p 0 〉) when we set L t to the order of, or longer than, L c . Highlights: A transect setting strategy for mark-recapture experiments is proposed. The transect width is determined according to its relative position to nearshore currents. The strategy could be applicable to beaches with clear nearshore current circulation.