Coastal drift and classification of the global garbage found along the beaches of the North Coast of the State of Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

The North Coast of the State of Bahia exhibits a specific occupational standard in the research field, including small towns which in most cases, still exhibit traditional characteristics. In the region predominates wide stretches of sandy beaches with a continuous shoreline, very regular straight contour and bordered by dunes in its most part. This research had as objective to value the interactions of the global garbage presence and the pattern of sediment dispersion through the active coastal drift, along the beaches located between Subaúma and Barra do Itariri, of the North Coast of the State of Bahia, considering the existence of a nodal divergence point toward the stretch’s central part. There was not showed any significant seasonal variation between collections in these periods. The composition by material of origin registered the high presence of plastics packages, which were closely associated with the supply of mineral water’s bottles, which prevailed throughout the duration of the collection. There were also identified manufacturers countries of the international packages distributed in all continents. The largest heights of waves from southeast and south-southeast in Baixio/Barra do Itariri stretch can be a determinant factor for the biggest incident of marine garbage in the region, especially during the autumn/winter seasons.