'Record concentration' of microplastics in Arctic sea ice

Sunday, April 29, 2018, 3:54 PM - The diffusion of plastic residue into Earth's ecosystem has been accelerating, reaching even the most remote corners of our planet. Now, a new report suggests microplastic levels in the distant Arctic have reached a 'record concentration.'

That's the conclusion of researchers at the German-based Alfred Wegener Institute's (AWI) Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, who took ice samples from five areas of the Arctic Ocean over the course of three expeditions. When they examined the samples, they found each litre of sea ice contained up to 12,000 microplastic particles -- which the researchers say are 'two to three times' larger than previous measurements.

On top of that, the particles were so small -- about a 20th of a millimetre or less in width -- that they could be ingested by Arctic microorganisms, a discovery lead researcher Ilka Peeken says is particularly worrisome.

"No one can say for certain how harmful these tiny plastic particles are for marine life, or ultimately also for human beings," Peeken said in a release from the institute.

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Many microplastics are generated from the breakdown of larger plastics in the ocean, but they can also come from land-based sources like cars or washing particular kinds of textiles, which are then either blown or washed into the sea.

In all, the researchers found 17 different types of microplastics in their samples, some of which gave clues to where they'd come from.

For example, some ice floes driven into the Canadian Basin of the Arctic Ocean contained particles of polyethylene, which is used in packing material.

"Accordingly, we assume that these fragments represent remains of the so-called Great Pacific Garbage Patch and are pushed along the Bering Strait and into the Arctic Ocean by the Pacific inflow," the researchers write.

Other plastics that come from the paint of ships' hulls and nylon from fishing nets likely come from shallow seas off of Siberia, the researchers say, pointing to the impact of increased shipping and fishing within the Arctic itself as it thaws.

The findings were published in Nature Communications.

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SOURCE: Alfred Wegener Institute