When sea ice forms it scavenges and concentrates particulates from the water column, which then become trapped until the ice melts. In recent years, melting has led to record lows in Arctic Sea ice extent, the most recent in September 2012. Global climate models, such as that of Gregory et al. (2002), suggest that the decline in Arctic Sea ice volume (3.4% per decade) will actually exceed the decline in sea ice extent, something that Laxon et al. (2013) have shown supported by satellite data. The extent to which melting ice could release anthropogenic particulates back to the open ocean has not yet been examined. Here we show that Arctic Sea ice from remote locations contains concentrations of microplastics are several orders of magnitude greater than those that have been previously reported in highly contaminated surface waters, such as those of the Pacific Gyre. Our findings indicate that microplastics have accumulated far from population centers and that polar sea ice represents a major historic global sink of man-made particulates. The potential for substantial quantities of legacy microplastic contamination to be released to the ocean as the ice melts therefore needs to be evaluated, as do the physical and toxicological effects of plastics on marine life.

[1] In the laboratory, we have investigated the growth and composition of frost flowers. Their ionic composition has shown little difference from those of field measurements. Young frost flowers grown on sea ice are saline, leading us to speculate that wicking occurs continually during their growth on sea ice. The surface area of frost flowers is only a little larger than the area of ice underneath, consistent with recent field measurements from the Arctic. Time-lapse photography has allowed us to observe the extreme mobility of freshly forming sea ice, at the stage at which the mush has become rather solid, and continuing while the flowers grow. This mobility results in new brine being expelled to the surface, which therefore remains wet. During various stages of frost flower growth, we observed their freshly formed dendritic parts rapidly diminishing in size after contacting the surface, consistent with repeated wicking. Frost flowers proved to be very stable in the presence of wind, such that no aerosol was observed when wind was blown across them in the laboratory chamber. This is consistent with recent field observations of frost flowers coexisting with wind-blown snow.

Plastics and other artificial materials pose new risks to the health of the ocean. Anthropogenic debris travels across large distances and is ubiquitous in the water and on shorelines, yet, observations of its sources, composition, pathways, and distributions in the ocean are very sparse and inaccurate. Total amounts of plastics and other man-made debris in the ocean and on the shore, temporal trends in these amounts under exponentially increasing production, as well as degradation processes, vertical fluxes, and time scales are largely unknown. Present ocean circulation models are not able to accurately simulate drift of debris because of its complex hydrodynamics. In this paper we discuss the structure of the future integrated marine debris observing system (IMDOS) that is required to provide long-term monitoring of the state of this anthropogenic pollution and support operational activities to mitigate impacts on the ecosystem and on the safety of maritime activity. The proposed observing system integrates remote sensing and in situ observations. Also, models are used to optimize the design of the system and, in turn, they will be gradually improved using the products of the system. Remote sensing technologies will provide spatially coherent coverage and consistent surveying time series at local to global scale. Optical sensors, including high-resolution imaging, multi-and hyperspectral, fluorescence, and Raman technologies, as well as SAR will be used to measure different types of debris. They will be implemented in a variety of platforms, from hand-held tools to ship-, buoy-, aircraft-, and satellite-based sensors. A network of in situ observations, including reports from volunteers, citizen scientists and ships of opportunity, will be developed to provide data for calibration/validation of remote sensors and to monitor the spread of plastic pollution and other marine debris. IMDOS will interact with other observing systems monitoring physical, chemical, and biological processes in the ocean and on shorelines as well as the state of the ecosystem, maritime activities and safety, drift of sea ice, etc. The synthesized data will support innovative multidisciplinary research and serve a diverse community of users.

[1] Frost flowers play a role in air-ice exchange in polar regions, contribute to tropospheric halogen chemistry, and affect ice core interpretation. Frost flowers were observed and collected on the Hudson Bay in March 2008. Their specific surface area (SSA) was measured using CH 4 adsorption at 77 K. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis produced SSA values between 63 and 299 cm 2 g À1 (mean 162 cm 2 g À1 , accuracy and reproducibility 5%). This range is very similar to that of Dominé et al. (2005) but our correlation of results with growth time and chemistry reveals the factors responsible for the wide range of SSA values. Longer growth time leads to higher SSA at low temperatures, so frost flowers are more likely to affect total surface area during colder periods. Chemical analysis was performed on frost flower melt and on local seawater and brine. We examined salinity and sulfate and bromide enrichment. The relationship between growth time and salinity varied spatially because of a freshwater plume from a nearby river and of tidal effects at the coast. Enrichment of certain ions in frost flowers, which affects their contribution to atmospheric chemistry, depends heavily on location, growth time, and temperature. No significant enrichment or depletion of bromide was detected. The low surface area index of frost flowers plus their lack of destruction in wind suggest their direct effect on sea salt mobilization and halogen chemistry may be less than previously thought, but their ability to salinate wind-blown snow may increase their indirect importance.

ABSTRACT. Snow grain-size characterization, its vertical and temporal evolution is a key parameter for the improvement and validation of snow and radiative transfer models (optical and microwave) as well as for remote-sensing retrieval methods. We describe two optical methods, one active and one passive shortwave infrared, for field determination of the specific surface area (SSA) of snow grains. We present a new shortwave infrared (SWIR) camera approach. This new method is compared with a SWIR laserbased system measuring snow albedo with an integrating sphere (InfraRed Integrating Sphere (IRIS)). Good accuracy (10%) and reproducibility in SSA measurements are obtained using the IRIS system on snow samples having densities greater than 200 kg m -3 , validated against X-ray microtomography measurements. The SWIRcam approach shows improved sensitivity to snow SSA when compared to a near-infrared camera, giving a better contrast of the snow stratigraphy in a snow pit.