Microplastics in the surface sediments of Krossfjord-Kongsfjord system, Svalbard, Arctic

Choudhary, Shabnam; Neelavannan, Kannaiyan; Saalim, Syed Mohammad

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113452

Cited by 20 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…The distribution of MPs at study sites that recorded relatively high levels in their upper sediment layers (20–35 MP kg –1 d.w.) may reflect the water current regimes as highlighted by Frias et al in a coastal embayment, Choudhary et al in the Krossfjord-Kongsfjord system, and Kane et al in a deep sea environment and is in line with Ding et al who concluded that the deep sea is largely influenced by the “microplastic-carrying effect” of bottom currents. The hydrodynamic regime at the Porcupine Seabight is dominated by the presence of Eastern North Atlantic Water (ENAW) and Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) and is characterized by an abundance of turbidity currents, gravity flows, and bottom currents .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Deep Sea Microplastic Pollution Extends Out to Sediments in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean Margins

Nash¹,

Joyce²,

Pagter

et al. 2022

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Microplastics are ubiquitous emerging contaminants found in every habitat surveyed, building upon international databases globally. Costs and accessibility often correlate to few deep sea sediment surveys, restricting the number of stations within a given sampling area. An extensive survey of the Porcupine Seabight, Porcupine Bank, the Goban Spur, and south-western canyons resulted in identifying microplastics in deep sea sediment surface layers from 33 of the 44 stations sampled (75%), with a total of 83 particles (74 synthetic and 9 natural) recorded. No microplastic hotspots were identified, and abundances (kg d.w. −1 ) were not correlated with distance from land, depth, or the presence of macrolitter on the seafloor. Understanding the sources of deep sea microplastics, such as marine traffic, is crucial to developing effective mitigation strategies as well as further monitoring campaigns targeting microplastic pollution in areas with significant deep sea biodiversity such as the Porcupine Seabright.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Deep Sea Microplastic Pollution Extends Out to Sediments in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean Margins

Nash¹,

Joyce²,

Pagter

et al. 2022

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…Carpenter et al ( 1972 ) was the first to observe small pieces of plastic floating on the water’s surface off the coast of New England. Since then, numerous studies have discovered MPs in locations such as the Arctic (Choudhary et al, 2022 ; Morgana et al, 2018 ), the Antarctic (Jones-Williams et al, 2020 ), and even the deepest parts of our oceans (Zhang et al, 2020 ). Rivers transport pollutants from land to the oceans (Amrutha & Warrier, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics in the marine environment of St. Mary's Island: implications for human health and conservation

Khaleel

Valsan

Rangel-Buitrago

et al. 2023

Environ Monit Assess

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Microplastics have now been identified as a class of emerging pollutants and is considered as a threat to aquatic organisms. This baseline paper investigated the distribution, composition, and potential ecological risks of microplastic (MP) pollution on St. Mary's Island, revealing an average abundance of 0.218 particles/L in water samples. Blue fibres and white foams were the primary MPs identified, and fishing activities and packaging were the main sources of pollution. Six types of polymers were identified: low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polystyrene (PS), polyamide (PA), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). The Polymer Hazard Index (PHI) and Potential Ecological Risk Index (PERI) indicated a medium environmental risk for the island. Additionally, it was discovered that MPs’ surfaces contained dangerous substances that could endanger aquatic life. The research emphasizes the significance of implementing measures such as responsible disposal, management, elimination, regulatory policies, and local administration techniques to mitigate the impact of MP pollution on the island’s shores and marine biota. This research provides a baseline for monitoring MP contamination and underscores the need for continuous investigation to assess their impacts on marine life.

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“…The rising plastic pollution of Svalbard's coastline could be due to local people or tourists, but the vast majority is likely transported to Svalbard's coastline by the surrounding ocean currents, with the debris originating from local and distant fishing activities as well as distant land-based sources (Bergmann et al, 2022a;Meyer et al, 2023 several studies have already investigated the amount and distribution of macroplastic and other large man-made debris along Svalbard's coastline (Nashoug, 2017;Jaskólski et al, 2018;Węsławski and Kotwicki, 2018;Falk-Andersson and Strietman, 2019;Falk-Andersson et al, 2021;Liutkus et al, 2022), including four studies where at least some of the data were collected by citizen scientists (Bergmann et al, 2017b;Strand et al, 2021;Meyer et al, 2023). While evidence of microplastics along the coasts and fjords of Svalbard has recently emerged Choudhary et al, 2022;Lin et al, 2022), baseline information on microplastic pollution levels of its beaches or Arctic beaches in general (Sundet et al, 2016;Sundet et al, 2017;Granberg et al, 2019;Blinovskaya et al, 2020) is still sparse.…”

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confidence: 99%

Citizen scientists reveal small but concentrated amounts of fragmented microplastic on Arctic beaches

Pasolini,

Walther,

Bergmann

2023

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Plastic production and plastic waste have increased to such an extent that it has become globally ubiquitous. Recent research has highlighted that it has also invaded remote Polar Regions including the Arctic, where it is expected to accumulate over time due to transport from distant sources, rising local anthropogenic activities and increasing fragmentation of existing ocean plastics to microplastics (plastic items <5 mm). While a growing body of research has documented microplastics in the atmosphere, cryosphere, sea surface, water column, sediments and biota, contamination levels on Arctic beaches are poorly known. To fill this knowledge gap, we engaged citizen scientists participating in tourist cruises to sample beach sediments during shore visits on Svalbard, Norway. Following drying, sieving, and visual inspection of samples under a binocular microscope, putative plastic particles ≥1 mm were analysed by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. Plastic particles ≥1 mm were found in two out of 53 samples from 23 beaches (mean: 196.3 particles kg−1 and 147.4 particles L−1). These pollution levels could be due to our focus on plastic particles ≥1 mm as well as the relatively small sample sizes used during this initial phase of the project. In addition, the coarse substrate on most beaches might retain fewer plastic particles. The two samples with plastic particles ≥1 mm contained six polyester-epoxide particles and 4920 polypropylene fibres. The latter likely originated from a fishing net and points to possibly accelerated plastic fragmentation processes on Arctic beaches. Since fisheries-related debris is an important source of plastic on Svalbard, a build-up of microplastic quantities can be expected to burden Arctic ecosystems in addition to climate change unless efficient upstream action is taken to combat plastic pollution.

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Microplastics in the surface sediments of Krossfjord-Kongsfjord system, Svalbard, Arctic

Cited by 20 publications

References 80 publications

Deep Sea Microplastic Pollution Extends Out to Sediments in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean Margins

Deep Sea Microplastic Pollution Extends Out to Sediments in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean Margins

Microplastics in the marine environment of St. Mary's Island: implications for human health and conservation

Citizen scientists reveal small but concentrated amounts of fragmented microplastic on Arctic beaches

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