Hotspots identified

Map shows where people bathe with garbage in the Mediterranean

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com)

With the help of numerous satellite images, researchers have identified thousands of littered areas covering 94.5 square kilometers of water.

Many Austrians are once again looking forward to their well-deserved beach vacation in the Mediterranean this year. Thousands of beaches are completely safe, but an international team of researchers has raised eyebrows: According to studies, a whole truckload of plastic now ends up in the world's oceans every minute.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

Satellite images show waste on the ocean surface
However, it was previously unclear where the waste ultimately ends up. That is why marine scientists from the University of Cadiz in Spain, together with the European Space Agency (ESA), have analyzed 300,000 satellite images of the ocean surface taken every three days. Algorithms were used to create a comprehensive map, which has now been published in the journal "Nature Communications".

The Mediterranean is one of the seas most affected by plastic pollution - not least because of the particularly high number of tourists.

Andrés Cózar von der Universität Cádiz

It shows where marine pollution particularly accumulates in the Mediterranean: On the Italian coast from Trieste to Venice, in the south of the country between Naples and Calabria and on the east coast of Greece. Litter streaks can also be seen along the southern coast of Spain, the coast of Algeria and Tunisia and the southern coast of Turkey, where vacation resorts such as Antalya, Alanya and Side are located.

Researchers identified almost 14,400 garbage patches
Even without a map, the figures are alarming: the total of 14,374 identified garbage patches cover 94.5 km² of sea surface. That is the equivalent of 7500 soccer pitches. Some of these garbage trails reach a length of up to 20 kilometers and were mainly formed by strong ocean currents on the surface.