Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 13, 2026
Methods for Image-based Surveys of Benthic Macroinvertebrates and Their Habitat Exemplified by the Drop Camera Survey for the Atlantic Sea Scallop
Published on: July 2, 2018
Sequential monitoring of beach litter using webcams
Shin'ichiro Kako1, Atsuhiko Isobe, Shinya Magome
1Center for Marine Environmental Studies, Ehime University, 2-5 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama 790-8577, Japan. kako@dpc.ehime-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
This study attempts to establish a system for the sequential monitoring of beach litter using webcams placed at the Ookushi beach, Goto Islands, Japan, to establish the temporal variability in the quantities of beach litter every 90 min over a one and a half year period. The time series of the quantities of beach litter, computed by counting pixels with a greater lightness than a threshold value in photographs, shows that litter does not increase monotonically on the beach, but fluctuates mainly on a monthly time scale or less. To investigate what factors influence this variability, the time derivative of the quantity of beach litter is compared with satellite-derived wind speeds. It is found that the beach litter quantities vary largely with winds, but there may be other influencing factors.
