Investigation of microplastic pollution in Arctic fjord water: a case study of Rijpfjorden, Northern Svalbard

Bao, Mengrong; Huang, Qinghui; Lu, Zhibo; Collard, Fabrice; Cai, Meijun; Huang, Peng; Yu, Yong; Cheng, Shuiping; An, Lihui; Wold, Anette; Gabrielsen, Geir Wing

doi:10.1007/s11356-022-19826-3

Cited by 18 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…These local sources provide a potential explanation for the higher abundance of microplastics found at T1 and T5. Sea ice has been shown to hold microplastics and has been suggested to contribute toward the flux of microplastics within the Arctic regions (Obbard et al, 2014;Kanhai et al, 2020;Carlsson et al, 2021;Bao et al, 2022). Recent research highlighted that microplastics were present within ice cores obtained from the Arctic Ocean acting as a temporary (Lusher et al, 2015;.…”

Section: Microplastic Transport To the Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics in the Arctic: a transect through the Barents Sea

Emberson-Marl,

Coppock,

Cole

et al. 2023

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Globally, the abundance of microplastics in our oceans is increasing, including within the remote locations of the polar regions. The Barents Sea, which adjoins the Arctic Ocean, is an area of high primary productivity that, owing to the convergence of regional currents, has been mooted as a potential sixth ocean gyre that may coalesce high concentrations of plastic debris. This study aimed to explore data collected from large volume samples of sub-surface water collected from transects through the Barents Sea to quantify and characterise microplastics in this region, with a focus on potential impacts to zooplankton. Overall, the mean microplastic abundance in the Barents Sea was 0.011 microplastics m-3 (range: 0.007 – 0.015 m-3). Microplastics were found in higher abundances nearer land mass at the southern end of the transect and northwards towards the ice edge, recording 0.015 microplastics m-3 during both transect legs. Microplastics were predominantly fibrous (92.1%) and typically blue (79%) or red (17%) in colour. A range of polymers were identified including polyester (3.8%), copolymer blends (2.7%), elastomers (7.1%) and acrylics (10.6%), however semi-synthetic polymers dominated, comprising 74.4% of particles found. Higher microplastic concentrations in the northernmost transect may stem from melting sea-ice, while the higher concentrations in the southernmost transect likely derive from the long-range transport of microplastics via currents from Europe.

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Section: Microplastic Transport To the Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics in the Arctic: a transect through the Barents Sea

Emberson-Marl,

Coppock,

Cole

et al. 2023

Front. Mar. Sci.

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“…Finally, AV is a paint related polymer used on boats also found in waters and bivalves worldwide (Bao et al, 2022;Mu et al, 2022;Van Colen et al, 2021).…”

Section: Qualitative Aspects Of Particles Like Microplastics In Mollu...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Oysters and mussels as equivalent sentinels of microplastics and natural particles in coastal environments

Ribeiro

Nobre

Moreno

et al. 2023

Science of The Total Environment

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“…Up to a few years ago, ocean currents were thought to be the main transport pathways to remote locations, such as polar regions [15], but the detection of MPs in snow, ice, and air samples has proved that the atmosphere plays a critical role in their global spread to the Arctic [10,20,21]. In the Arctic region, MPs have been detected almost everywhere (i.e., rivers, oceans, sediments, and the associated biota) [10,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. Regarding plastic pollution in marine biota, in Nordic marine environments, MPs were reported in 14 fish species, some of commercial importance, as well as in blue mussels and marine worms; ingestion of plastic particles was found also in many seabirds and mammals [38].…”

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confidence: 99%

Small Microplastics: A yet Unknown Threat in the Svalbard (Norway) Region

Caruso,

Iannilli,

Vitale

et al. 2023

JMSE

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The Arctic Ocean is undergoing several transformations because of global climate change. Small microplastics (SMPs) or nanoplastics (NPs) carried by marine aerosols may settle in the land ice and be released to the waters, produced following its melting. As sea ice extent reduces and shipping and fishing activities increase, microplastics (MPs) may enter the region following ocean and maritime transports, with implications on Arctic biota, human health, and socioeconomic issues related to the exploitation of marine resources. First analyses on amphipods collected in Ny-Ålesund confirmed the presence of SMPs. Nevertheless, the threat posed by SMPs/NPs to polar biota and regional human health is not fully understood. This article addresses this issue and the need for organisms as potential bioindicators of plastic pollution, which is currently being carried out in the Svalbard region under the framework of the MICROTRACER project funded by the Italian Arctic Research Program (PRA, Call 2021). The outputs of this research are expected to contribute to deepening the current knowledge of SMPs in Svalbard, providing new insights on their occurrence, distribution, and transfer through the marine trophic web, to realize effective control and regulatory framework measures to implement an integrated multidisciplinary approach for monitoring and to reduce MPs pollution in this fragile polar environment.

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Investigation of microplastic pollution in Arctic fjord water: a case study of Rijpfjorden, Northern Svalbard

Cited by 18 publications

References 48 publications

Microplastics in the Arctic: a transect through the Barents Sea

Microplastics in the Arctic: a transect through the Barents Sea

Oysters and mussels as equivalent sentinels of microplastics and natural particles in coastal environments

Small Microplastics: A yet Unknown Threat in the Svalbard (Norway) Region

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