Determining the distribution and accumulation patterns of floating litter using  modelling tools in the Baltic Sea

<p>Marine plastic &#64258;oating on the sea surface is a major environmental problem. The present study<br />investigated the potential transport patterns of floating marine litter and areas of its<br />accumulation in the Baltic Sea by using a hydrodynamic model coupled with a particle-tracking<br />model (<strong>Parcels</strong>). Mapping of marine plastic debris distribution in 2017&#8211;2018 revealed that the largest<br />plastic accumulation area is between latitude 59&#176; and 61&#176;, which includes the Northern Baltic<br />Proper, Archipelago Sea, and the Gulf of Finland. The floating plastic spreads from the largest<br />plastic pollution site River Vistula to the waters of all the countries around the Baltic Sea.</p>