A study by the University of British Columbia found that microplastics floating from European rivers could accumulate in the Arctic Ocean, Nordic Seas and Baffin Bay. Scientific Reports suggests.
Previous research has indicated that there are high levels of microplastic particles in the Arctic Ocean. However, the source and location of these microplastics remains a mystery.
Mats Huserbråten and colleagues combined models of ocean currents between 2007 and 2017 with simulations of floating microplastic movements. They created simulations of the microplastics being released from 21 major rivers in northern Europe and the Arctic over a period of ten years and then modelled their movements over many decades. The researchers then compared their model to the distribution of floating microplastics in 121 seawater samples taken from 17 locations off the west coast Norway between May 2017 – August 2018.
The authors discovered that most simulated particles drifted along one of two main routes after being released from rivers. 65% drifted along the Norwegian coast towards the Laptev Sea – located north of Russia – before being transported into the Arctic Ocean, across the North Pole, and then exiting the Arctic Ocean via the Fram Strait – located east of Greenland. 30% of the simulated particles drifted along Norway’s coast, before moving southwards via Fram Strait. They then traveled along the east and south coasts Greenland before heading further south along Canada’s northeast coast. After 20 years of simulations the researchers were able to identify clear areas where floating microplastics accumulated. These were in the Nordic Seas, the Nansen Basin in the Arctic Ocean, the Barents Sea and Laptev Sea – located between the Arctic Ocean and north Russia – and Baffin Bay, which is located between Greenland and Canada. Analyses of seawater samples revealed that the distribution of floating microplastics was consistent with that predicted by the authors’ model after ten years of simulated microplastic release and subsequent circulation through the Nordic Seas, the Arctic Ocean and the Fram Strait. This suggests that floating plastics may have circulated in the Arctic for at minimum ten years.
According to the authors, floating microplastics could have negative effects on the health of Arctic ecosystems. The authors add that the findings highlight the importance for better plastic waste management.
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Article details
Trans-polar drift-pathways for riverine European microplastic
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-07080-z
Corresponding Authors
Mats Huserbråten
Institute of Marine Research Bergen, Norway
Email: [email protected]
Please link to this article in online versions. The URL will go live once the embargo is lifted. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-07080-z
Journal
Scientific Reports
Article Title
Trans-polar drift-pathways for riverine European microplastic
Article Publication Date
17-Mar-2022
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