Pollution in The Black Sea
The Black Sea is an enclosed sea encompassing the largest anoxic basin in the world. Because of its deep, oxygen free waters under 100 metres, the Black Sea is the home of a huge number of well-preserved shipwrecks. Therefore, it calls the attention of scientists from all over the world to find evidence about the mysterious history. According to the archaeologists, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of wrecks must have been preserved under the dark waters of the Black Sea.
In addition to the features, the Black Sea has the limited water renewal and unique connection with the Mediterranean Sea which is the narrow passage of the Turkish Straits System and it has always been a basin with a positive water balance. This matchless feature renders the Black Sea ecosystem rather vulnerable to anthropogenic pressure. Many rivers discharge into the Black Sea and it is also a significant shipping route and is exposed to intense fishing activities. Consequently, it is sensitive to any kind of pollution, including solid wastes.
- 83% of the marine litter found in the Black Sea is plastic, namely bottles, packaging and bags. The large rivers (in Ukraine study included the Danube and the Dniester) bring to the sea from 6 to 50 items of litter per hour. The amount of marine litter in the Black Sea is almost twice as high as in the Mediterranean Sea (90.5 vs. 50 litter items / km 2 ). Microplastics were found in the sediments of the Black Sea both in its shelf parts and in the depths of more than 2,000 m.
- The concentrations of some priority hazardous chemical substances dangerous for marine and human life exceed their toxicity threshold values. Among these substances were benzo(a)pyrene, several pesticides, insecticides and also mercury and flame retardants in fish. In addition, 124 chemicals dangerous for the sea ecosystem and human health were identified including persistent organic pollutants, metals, pesticides, biocides, pharmaceuticals, flame retardants, industrial pollutants and personal care products. These substances had not been monitored earlier and they will be proposed to be included for regular monitoring.items.”
- At the moment of the survey (June 2019), at least 1,000 dolphins of each species occurred in Ukrainian territorial waters of the north-western Black Sea, between the Danube Delta and the Tendra. Spit in Kherson region. These values are relatively low. The greatest aggregations of dolphins in Ukrainian waters were identified near the Danube Delta and Zmiinyi (Snake) Island.
The study “Seafloor Litter in the Sinop İnceburun Coast in the Southern Black Sea” of the academics, Aysah Oztekin and Levent Bat, in Sinop University, states that “Total swept area was calculated as 0.0549 km2. Seafloor litter density was found between 109.39-1384.34 pieces km ⁻ ² and mean 808.74±215.02 pieces km ⁻ ². Most polluted depth was found 34 m and the least polluted depth was found 20 m which was the closest station to shore. When results were evaluated in terms of the type of material, the most common litter type was found plastic (95.35%) and it’s followed by cloth and textile (2.33%) and wood (2.33%). Assessing the results according to their possible use areas indicated that marine litter in the research area is heavily sourced from mixed packaging items. At the same time encountered with fisheries related items, domestic and household related items, construction related items and personal use and unidentified
Before the war started in Ukraine, the Black Sea was already suffering from pollution. According to the results of the Joint Black Sea Surveys presented by the EU/UNDP-funded project “Improving Environmental Monitoring in the Black Sea: Selected Measures” (EMBLAS-Plus)
It is so terrifying to hear that the same study also highlights that in region Sinop eddy may form repeatedly once or twice a year for about a season and the sampling area is under the influence of regional winds, waves and currents. When considering the special condition of the region, it is possible that the litter density is found to be higher than most of the studies in the Black Sea.