We report on three decades of repeat surveys of beached marine debris at two locations in the Scotia Sea, in the Southwest Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. Between October 1989 and March 2019 10,112 items of beached debris were recovered from Main Bay, Bird Island, South Georgia in the northern Scotia Sea. The total mass of items (data from 1996 onwards) was 101 kg. Plastic was the most commonly recovered item (97.5% by number; 89% by mass) with the remainder made up of fabric, glass, metal, paper and rubber. Mean mass per item was 0.01 kg and the rate of accumulation was 100 items km-1 month-1. Analyses showed an increase in the number of debris items recovered (5.7 per year) but a decline in mean mass per item, suggesting a trend towards more, smaller items of debris at Bird Island. At Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, located in the southern Scotia Sea and within the Antarctic Treaty area, debris items were collected from three beaches, during the austral summer only, between 1991 and 2019. In total 1304 items with a mass of 268 kg were recovered. Plastic items contributed 84% by number and 80% by mass, with the remainder made up of metal (6% by number; 14% by mass), rubber (4% by number; 3% by mass), fabric, glass and paper (<1% by number; 3% by mass). Mean mass per item was 0.2 kg and rate of accumulation was 3 items km-1 month-1. Accumulation rates were an order of magnitude higher on the western (windward) side of the island (13-17 items km-1 month-1) than the eastern side (1.5 items km-1 month-1). Analyses showed a slight decline in number and slight increase in mean mass of debris items over time at Signy Island. This study highlights the prevalence of anthropogenic marine debris (particularly plastic) in the Southern Ocean. It shows the importance of long-term monitoring efforts in attempting to catalogue marine debris and identify trends, and serves warning of the urgent need for a wider understanding of the extent of marine debris across the whole of the Southern Ocean.

中文翻译：

---

南大洋三十年的海洋垃圾：斯科舍海两个岛岸的年度调查。

我们报告了在南大洋西南大西洋地区斯科舍海的两个地点对海滩海垃圾进行的三十年重复调查。在1989年10月至2019年3月之间，从斯科舍海北部佐治亚州伯德岛的Main Bay的Main Bay回收了10,112件海滩碎片。物品的总质量（1996年以来的数据）为101千克。塑料是回收率最高的产品（数量占97.5％；质量占89％），其余部分由织物，玻璃，金属，纸张和橡胶组成。每件物品的平均质量为0.01千克，累积速率为100件物品km-1 month-1。分析表明，回收的碎片数量有所增加（每年5.7件），但每件物品的平均质量却下降了，这表明伯德岛有更多，更小碎片的趋势。在南奥克尼群岛的西尼岛，该区域位于斯科舍海南部和《南极条约》区域之内，仅在1991年至2019年夏季期间，从三个海滩收集了碎片物。总共回收了1304件重268千克的物品。塑料制品占84％，质量占80％，其余部分由金属（占6％；按质量计14％），橡胶（占4％；按质量计3％），织物，玻璃和纸张组成（＜1％数量； 3％质量）。每件物品的平均质量为0.2千克，累积速率为3件物品km-1 month-1。岛屿的西部（迎风面）（13-17项km-1 month-1）的蓄水率要比东部（1.5项km-1 month-1）高一个数量级。分析表明，随时间推移，Signy Island的碎片数量略有下降，平均物品质量略有增加。这项研究强调了南大洋上人为海洋垃圾（特别是塑料）的流行。它显示了长期监测努力在试图对海洋垃圾进行分类和确定趋势方面的重要性，并警告迫切需要更广泛地了解整个南大洋海洋垃圾的范围。