A workshop on marine plastics and underwater cultural heritage was held in Malta between 16 and 21 May 2022. The aim was to understand the relationship between deep-water heritage sites and plastic pollution.
Every year an estimated 12 million tonnes of plastic enter the world’s seas, but what can be seen floating on the surface accounts for only 1%, begging the question where is all the rest? Recent studies have shown that the deep-sea floor can provide answers to this question. The United Nations Ocean Decade (2021-2030) has a major outcome – A Clean Ocean – which aims to identify pollutant sources in order to determine gaps in knowledge where the seabed remains an area that is poorly understood. However, studying the extent of marine litter at depth comes with its own set of logistical problems and operational challenges.
Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH) refers to human remains found on the oceans sea beds, ranging from prehistoric landscapes to ancient shipwrecks and crashed aircraft. The identification and documentation of UCH has necessitated the use of marine robotics and other technologies, with direct human intervention limited by factors such as depth, visibility, and temperature. The presence of polluting elements on UCH sites has been repeatedly noted throughout marine surveys, with fishing nets and lines, rubber, metal and plastic waste a common sight. UCH sites can be seen as benchmarks for the use of marine robotics as tools for the quantification and qualification of deep-sea marine litter. This provides a unique insight into uses of underwater technologies such as Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and Autonomous Operated Vehicles (AUVs), to track and monitor marine litter on and around UCH sites.
Prof. Timmy Gambin said "This first workshop provided the ideal platform for local researchers and members of government agencies to experience various approaches used in the field of underwater cultural heritage. The aim is to explore how these can be adapted to help monitor and manage litter at sea. Our partners from Norway provided crucial feedback and input and we are looking forward to the forthcoming workshop in Trondheim, Norway. We are grateful to the EEA for providing the grant that enabled the organisation of these events".
