Plastic debris composition and concentration in the Arctic Ocean, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea

Hänninen, Jari; Weckström, Markus; Pawłowska, Joanna; Szymańska, Natalia; Uurasjärvi, Emilia; Zajączkowski, Marek; Hartikainen, Samuel; Vuorinen, Ilppo

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112150

Cited by 35 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The highest reported concentration of MPs in Arctic surface waters was 61.2 particles/m 3 , found at Ny--Alesund, Svalbard, Norway (Granberg et al 2019). In a recent study conducted in the Fram Strait, North Sea and Baltic Sea, average concentrations of MPs found in surface waters were 0.058 particles/m 3 or 0.009 particles/m 2 , with higher concentrations of MPs found closer to the Arctic (Hänninen et al 2021). 80% of the MPs were fragments and 16% were films, with a mean particle size of 2.66 mm.…”

Section: Plastics In Remote Regionsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Oceanic Long-Range Transport of Organic Additives Present in Plastic Products – An overview

Rebelo-de-Andrade¹,

Glüge²,

Herzke³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Plastics are persistent synthetic matrices that contain chemical additives in significant amounts. Millions of tonnes of plastics are produced every year and a significant amount of this plastic enters the marine environment, either as macro- or microplastics. In this article, an overview is given of the presence of marine plastic debris globally and its potential to reach remote locationsin combination with an analysis of the oceanic long-range transport potential of organic additives present in plastic debris. The information gathered shows that leaching of very hydrophobic substances from plastic is slow in the ocean, whereas more polar substances leach faster but mostly from the surface layers of the particle. Their high content used in plastic of several percent by weight allows also these chemicals to be transported over long distances without being completely depleted along the way. It is therefore likely that various types of additives reach remote locations with plastic debris. As a consequence, birds or other wildlife that ingest plastic debris are exposed to these substances, as leaching is accelerated in warm‐blooded organisms and under acidic stomach conditions compared to leaching in water. Our estimates show that approximately 13’500 t of numerous organic additives are transported within buoyant plastic matrices globallywith a significant portion also transported to the Arctic. For many of these chemicals, LRT by plastic as a carrier is their only means of travelling over long distances without degrading, resulting in plastic debris enabling the LRT of chemicals which otherwise would not reach polar environments with unknown consequences. The transport of organic additives via plastic debris is an additional long‐range transport route that should also be acknowledged under the Stockholm Convention.

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Section: Plastics In Remote Regionsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Oceanic Long-Range Transport of Organic Additives Present in Plastic Products – An overview

Rebelo-de-Andrade¹,

Glüge²,

Herzke³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…In simple terms, the k ‐means clustering assigns data points to k clusters, so that the sum of the Euclidean distances between the data points to cluster center achieves a minimum (Devred et al., 2007; Nieblas et al., 2014). Based on the “elbow method,” numbers of clusters ( k ) were determined after which additional clusters did not significantly decrease the total sum of squares (Hänninen et al., 2021). K ‐means analyses were then performed on each array using the optimal k , one can further assign the resulting clusters to biogeochemical provinces.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal Dynamics of Surface Dissolved Organic Matter in the South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca: Implications for Biogeochemical Province Delineation of Marginal Seas

Zhang

et al. 2021

JGR Biogeosciences

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Physical, chemical, and biological forces interact in the ocean, in which the large diversity of biogeochemical characteristics and underlying dynamics are difficult to be recognized. Recently, the concept of biogeochemical provinces has been put forward to simplify this complexity of ecosystem through identifying distinct environmental conditions (Longhurst, 2007;Reygondeau et al., 2013;Sayre et al., 2017). The province delineations have contributed to the investigations of multiple biogeochemical processes (e.g., nitrification and biotic population) over broad oceanic regions (Angel et al., 2007;Shiozaki et al., 2016), thereby being a potentially valuable tool for assessing oceanic dissolved organic matter (DOM) dynamics, which is highly stressed under the scenario of global change.

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“…A number of papers present MP distributions at regional scale [127,167,37,68], while others attempt to pinpoint local sources [172,125,171], or identify MP signatures of oceanographic domains [75], but no systematic analysis of regional patterns and trends exists for the Nordic Seas.…”

Section: What Sampling Designs Will Best Capture Spatial and Temporal...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding microplastic pollution in the Nordic marine environment – knowledge gaps and suggested approaches

et al. 2022

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This paper examines a number of specific, practical recommendations to advance knowledge and move towards evidence-based solutions to microplastic (MP) pollution in the Nordic marine environment. The paper approaches the subject of MPs holistically, emphasises the knowledge gaps and challenges in answering pressing questions, discusses the limitations that so far have prevented these questions from being solved, and suggests approaches for answering them. The Nordic context is chosen due to the global importance of its ecosystem that is threatened by MP pollution, exacerbated by climate change. The research questions discussed pick up knowledge gaps identified in attempts to answer the most pressing questions of our time regarding marine MP pollution and are applicable to some or all seas of the Nordic region, from the Baltic and North Seas in the south to the Arctic in the north.The research questions relate to sources, sinks and transport of MPs, and how food webs are potentially impacted in Nordic marine environments. In addition, we point out the relevance for stakeholders expected to use the emerging knowledge. Through this exercise, using concrete examples, we aim to invite discussions on how a concerted effort by the Nordic countries can bring MP research to a higher level of understanding needed to address the MP pollution problem in Nordic marine habitats.

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Plastic debris composition and concentration in the Arctic Ocean, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea

Cited by 35 publications

References 30 publications

Oceanic Long-Range Transport of Organic Additives Present in Plastic Products – An overview

Oceanic Long-Range Transport of Organic Additives Present in Plastic Products – An overview

Seasonal Dynamics of Surface Dissolved Organic Matter in the South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca: Implications for Biogeochemical Province Delineation of Marginal Seas

Understanding microplastic pollution in the Nordic marine environment – knowledge gaps and suggested approaches

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