Wide-Area Debris Field and Seabed Characterization of a Deep Ocean Dump Site Surveyed by Autonomous Underwater Vehicles.

ABSTRACT: Disposal of industrial and hazardous waste in the ocean was a pervasive global practice in the 20th century. Uncertainty in the quantity, location, and contents of dumped materials underscores ongoing risks to marine ecosystems and human health. This study presents an analysis of a wide-area side-scan sonar survey conducted with autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) at a dump site in the San Pedro Basin, California. Previous camera surveys located 60 barrels and other debris. Sediment analysis in the region showed varying concentrations of the insecticidal chemical dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), of which an estimated 350-700 t were discarded in the San Pedro Basin between 1947 and 1961. A lack of primary historical documents specifying DDT acid waste disposal methods has contribute

SUBMITTER: Merrifield ST 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10666539 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature