Characteristics of Marine Litters in the West Coast of Bali
Abstract: Kuta beach in Bali
is a world-famous tourist destination has been suffering from marine litters
(or debris) disaster almost every year. Mitigation efforts have been carried
out by the local government started from educating the people as well as
continuing mass cleaning campaigns for the stranded litters in the beach. The
research has an objective to understand the physical processes of marine debris
characteristics in Kuta such as its propagation and distribution along the
coastline and in the water columns during the two different seasons (West
Monsoon and Transitional seasons). A hydrodynamic model was developed to
investigate the transport of marine litters from their sources by considering
the tide-driven surface currents and wind. Field surveys were also conducted to
assess marine litter’s characteristics in the surface and in the sea beds for
both plastic and wood types of litters. Hydrodynamic simulation shows that the
surface current ranging from 0.05 – 1.75 m/s is capable of transporting marine
surface debris from Bali Straits and other sources in the South of Bali to Kuta
during West Monsoon season. The collected litters during the West Monsoon
season were four times larger in quantity. The concentration of litters in the
seabed and in the water column is larger near to the coastline than further
offshore. In the meantime, during Transitional season, Kuta was completely free
from marine litters. Results from surveys also showed that the most effective
measures for marine litters in Kuta is self-awareness of the people to keep the
environment clean.
Keywords: marine litters,
pollution, hydrodynamics, Kuta, Bali
Penulis: Semeidi Husrin, Ulung
Jantama Wisha, Rahmadi Prasetyo, Aprizon Putra, Adli Attamimi
Kode Jurnal: jpperikanandd170325
