Marine Plastic Litter: Indonesia


The world’s oceans and coastlines are disproportionately affected by anthropogenic climate change. Further, coastal communities, habitats and ecosystems are highly vulnerable to human-induced stressors including marine plastic pollution. This app allows visualisation of potential pathways of marine plastic debris around Indonesia. This platform provides the user with the opportunity to visualise, explore, and understand the pathways of plastic debris from coastal sources to coastal and offshore sinks.


This app has been developed within the British Council/Newton Fund Challenge Prize funded project 'Mapping marine litter pathways and sea-level rise in Indonesia'. This project aims to improve awareness and understanding of the connected problems of marine plastic and climate change in Indonesia and is a collaboration between Bangor University, Universitas Padjadjaran, Edinburgh University and the University of Central Lancashire.

App developed by:

Sophie Ward, Nia Jones, and David Christie

School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University

Code, UI/UX and data wrangling by:

Noah Giebink & Keaton Wilson


Figure 1. Source locations based on the main rivers around Sulawesi Island

Select a site:

Select Simulation Parameters


              

            

          

        

        

          

            

              
            

            

              

                

                

                  

                    

                      
Selection Summary

                    

                    

                      

                    

                  

                  
                

              

              

                

              

            

          

        

        

          

            

              

                
Sea-level rise: Selayar Island, Indonesia

              

            

            

            

              

                
Here we consider how future projected sea-level rise and the resulting coastal inundation 
                       may affect island nations in Indonesia. The maps illustrate the coastline of Selayar Island, 
                       Indonesia for the present-day and for a first-order approximation of the inundated coastline 
                       with a sea-level rise of 0.9 m. This value of sea-level rise was based on the IPCC’s global 
                       mean sea-level rise projection of 0.61 – 1.10 m by 2100. The simple maps show coastal 
                       inundation as a function of the present-day topographic and bathymetric data, with a uniform 
                       increased water elevation of 0.9 m added to the present-day mean high water line.

                

                
Please note, these maps do not account for any other factors which can influence coastal 
                       inundation (e.g., relative sea-level change, coastal defences, coastal erosion). The intended 
                       purpose of these maps is for raising awareness of the potential for coastal inundation by 
                       rising sea levels. Due to the simplicity of the method used for generating the coastal 
                       inundation map, this image is not intended for planning or decision-making purposes of any 
                       kind.

                

                
On the map below, click to the right to see the present coastline or the left to see the approximated future 
                         coastline with a sea-level rise of 0.9 m.

              

            

            

              
              
            

          

        

        

          

            
Overview

            
Plastic litter severely affects biodiversity, tourism, fisheries 
             and public health. Offshore marine plastic debris will be a 
             mixture of litter discharged from local rivers, combined with waste 
             brought in by winds and currents from further afield; it may remain 
             local or be transported to a different region. Understanding these 
             pathways will help communities and governments work together to mitigate 
             and prevent damage caused by marine plastic waste and climate change.
                              

            
This app simulates the potential dispersal of plastic particles 
                   from river sources around Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. The plastic 
                   particles simulated within this app are transported from 13 river 
                   mouths (Fig. 1) by simulated (modelled) ocean currents. These simulations 
                   are based on a sophisticated hydrodynamic model (HYCOM)
                   which predicts flows driven by the tide, wind, and heat inputs. Here 
                   we use model simulations for November 2020 to October 2021, to encompass 
                   both the regional wet and dry seasons.

            
 The simulated ocean currents are coupled with a Particle Tracking 
                  Model (Ocean Parcels) which was set to ‘release’ 
                  80 virtual particles (representing plastic) from each of the 13 discrete 
                  locations (river mouths), at 24 hour intervals over 3 months, for both 
                  the wet- and dry seasons. These particles are then dispersed throughout 
                  regional waters according to the local simulated ocean currents. A 
                  range of release periods can be selected to incorporate changes in 
                  the wet- and dry-seasons in the surface currents. These simulations 
                  only account for surface transport of the plastic particles. 

            
            

              Figure 1. Source locations based on the main rivers around Sulawesi Island