Importance of seasonal sea ice in the western Arctic ocean to the Arctic and global microplastic budgets

Kim, Seung-Kyu; Lee, Hee-Jee; Kim, Jisu; Kang, Sung‐Ho; Yang, Eun Jin; Cho, Kyoung‐Ho; Tian, Zhexi; Andrady, Anthony L.

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125971

Cited by 45 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 68 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For the landfast sea ice in East Antarctic, (Kelly et al 2020) stated that the sea ice does not have uniform MP concentrations throughout its thickness. In seasonal sea ice of the western Arctic Ocean, (Kim et al 2021) have not found drastic differences between top and bottom layers in any cores. It can thus be concluded that in the sea ice the MPs abundance has no certain fixed pattern, rather it depends on external conditions and the thermodynamic history of the particular ice (Geilfus et al 2019, Kanhai et al 2020.…”

Section: Vertical Distribution Of Mps In Ice Coresmentioning

confidence: 54%

“…Seemingly pristine high-latitude regions appeared to be contaminated by plastics as well, and recent observations indicate that the MPs abundance in polar sea ice is orders of magnitude larger than that in surface waters (Obbard et al 2014, Kanhai et al 2020. Observations in icy environments are very difficult, laborious, and expensive, so only a few papers on field evidence of plastic contamination in sea ice have been published up to now (Obbard et al 2014, Peeken et al 2018, Geilfus et al 2019, Kanhai et al 2020, Kelly et al 2020, Kim et al 2021. Natural sea ice is by far more complicated than 'natural' plastics, which makes understanding MPs distribution in sea ice and its underlying physical background even more difficult.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Physical processes behind interactions of microplastic particles with natural ice

Chubarenko

2022

Environ. Res. Commun.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Microplastic particles (MPs, <5 mm) are found in marine ice in larger quantities than in seawater, however, the distribution pattern within the ice cores is not consistent. To get insights into the most general physical processes behind interactions of ice and plastic particles in cool natural environments, information from academic and applied research is integrated and verified against available field observations. Non-polar molecules of common-market plastics are hydrophobic, so MPs are weak ice nucleators, are repelled from water and ice, and concentrate within air bubbles and brine channels. A large difference in thermal properties of ice and plastics favours concentration of MPs at the ice surface during freeze/thaw cycles. Under low environmental temperatures, falling in polar regions below the glass / brittle-ductile transition temperatures of the common-use plastics, they become brittle. This might partially explain the absence of floating macroplastics in polar waters. Freshwater freezes at the temperature well below that of its maximum density, so the water column is stably stratified, and MPs eventually concentrate at the ice surface and in air bubbles. In contrast, below growing sea ice, mechanisms of suspension freezing under conditions of (thermal plus haline) convection should permanently entangle MPs into ice. During further sea ice growth and aging, MPs are repelled from water and ice into air bubbles, brine channels, and to the upper/lower boundaries of the ice column. Sea ice permeability, especially while melting periods, can re-distribute sub-millimeter MPs through the brine channels, thus potentially introducing the variability of contamination with time. In accord with field observations, analysis reveals several competing factors that influence the distribution of MPs in sea ice. A thorough sampling of the upper ice surface, prevention of brine leakage while sampling and handling, considering the ice structure while segmenting the ice core – these steps may be advantageous for further understanding the pattern of plastic contamination in natural ice.

show abstract

Section: Vertical Distribution Of Mps In Ice Coresmentioning

confidence: 54%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical processes behind interactions of microplastic particles with natural ice

Chubarenko

2022

Environ. Res. Commun.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although microplastics (e.g., microfibres, fragments, films, and foams) have been identified in both polar regions (Isobe et al 2017, Waller et al 2017Peeken et al 2018b;PAME 2019, Materić et al 2022, the majority of studies on microplastics in the atmosphere, ice, and snow have focused on Arctic environments (e.g., Obbard et al 2014;Peeken et al 2018a;Bergmann et al 2019;Kanhai et al 2020;Von Friesen et al 2020;Brahney et al 2021;Kim et al 2021, Materić et al 2022. Like other atmospheric particles, microplastics are expected to undergo long-range transport via air currents followed by wet and dry deposition onto water and land (Allen et al 2019).…”

Section: Microplastic In the Atmosphere And Long-range Transportmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cryosphere matrices (e.g., sea ice, land-fast ice, ice caps, ice fields, glaciers, etc.) tend to sequester microplastics, and act as temporary storage and regional transport vector (Obbard et al 2014;Peeken et al 2018a;von Friesen et al 2020;Kanhai et al 2020;Ásmundsdóttir et al 2020;Kim et al 2021). The mechanism of microplastic sequestration is likely dependent upon the origin of the ice (e.g., seasonal sea ice versus ice fields created by snowpack).…”

Section: Microplastics In the Cryospherementioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring microplastics in the atmosphere and cryosphere in the circumpolar North: A case for multi-compartment monitoring

Hamilton

Jantunen²,

Bergmann

et al. 2022

Arctic Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The atmosphere and cryosphere have recently garnered considerable attention due to their role in transporting microplastics to and within the Arctic, and between freshwater, marine, and terrestrial environments. While investigating either in isolation provides valuable insight on the fate of microplastics in the Arctic, monitoring both provides a more holistic view. Nonetheless, despite the recent scientific interest, fundamental knowledge on microplastic abundance, and consistent monitoring efforts, are lacking for these compartments. Here, we build upon the work of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme’s Monitoring Guidelines for Litter and Microplastic to provide a roadmap for multi-compartment monitoring of the atmosphere and cryosphere to support our understanding of the sources, pathways, and sinks of plastic pollution across the Arctic. Overall, we recommend the use of existing standard techniques for ice and atmospheric sampling and to build upon existing monitoring efforts in the Arctic to obtain a more comprehensive pan-Arctic view of microplastic pollution in these two compartments.

show abstract

“…Records from Alaska dating back to the 1960s include the occurrence of plastic debris and the relative consequences for marine life (Threlfall, 1968). The supply of litter and microplastics to and within the Arctic includes long-range transport, having been carried by sea currents (Lusher et al, 2015;Bergmann et al, 2016;Cózar et al, 2017;Kanhai et al, 2018;Tekman et al, 2020;Pogojeva et al, 2021), sea ice -formation, movement, and melting - (Obbard et al, 2014;Peeken et al, 2018;Kanhai et al, 2020;von Friesen et al, 2020;Kim et al, 2021), riverine input (Frank et al, 2021;Yakushev et al, 2021), input by the atmosphere (Bergmann et al, 2019;Evangeliou et al, 2020), as well as localised input from urban centres (Rist et al, 2020), littering, fishing, dumping of sewage or garbage, and wastewater treatment facilities (Granberg et al, 2019;von Friesen et al, 2020;Mallory et al, 2021). Unfortunately, there is a paucity in the available published literature on the origin of detected plastic litter, which hinders an understanding of the relative importance of sources.…”

Section: Introduction / Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

The power of multi-matrix monitoring in the Pan-Arctic region: plastics in water and sediment

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Litter and microplastic assessments are being carried out worldwide. Arctic ecosystems are no exception and plastic pollution is high on the Arctic Council’s agenda. Water and sediment have been identified as two of the priority compartments for monitoring plastics under the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP). Recommendations for monitoring both compartments are presented in this publication. Alone, such samples can provide information on presence, fate, and potential impacts to ecosystems. Together, the quantification of microplastics in sediment and water from the same region produce a three-dimensional picture of plastics, not only a snapshot of floating or buoyant plastics in the surface water or water column but also a picture of the plastics reaching the shoreline or benthic sediments, in lakes, rivers, and the ocean. Assessment methodologies must be adapted to the ecosystems of interest to generate reliable data. In its current form, published data on plastic pollution in the Arctic is sporadic and collected using a wide spectrum of methods which limits the extent to which data can be compared. A harmonised and coordinated effort is needed to gather data on plastic pollution for the Pan-Arctic. Such information will aid in identifying priority regions and focusing mitigation efforts.

show abstract

Importance of seasonal sea ice in the western Arctic ocean to the Arctic and global microplastic budgets

Cited by 45 publications

References 68 publications

Physical processes behind interactions of microplastic particles with natural ice

Physical processes behind interactions of microplastic particles with natural ice

Monitoring microplastics in the atmosphere and cryosphere in the circumpolar North: A case for multi-compartment monitoring

The power of multi-matrix monitoring in the Pan-Arctic region: plastics in water and sediment

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About