We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Accumulation of fishing debris, plastic litter and other artefacts on Heard Island and Macquarie Island, Southern Ocean
AI summary Read the abstract
Even remote, uninhabited islands in the Southern Ocean are steadily piling up with plastic trash and fishing gear washing ashore, no place on Earth is untouched by ocean pollution. This matters beyond wildlife (seals getting tangled, birds swallowing plastic): the same debris breaks down into microplastics that enter the food chain, including the fish and seafood many of us eat.
Sections of coastline of Heard and Macquarie Islands were surveyed for marine debris in summer 1987-88, and 1989 respectively. These surveys were carried out at the same sites of previous surveys in 1986-87 at Heard Island, and 1988 at Macquarie Island. The minimum rate of artefact accumulation was 13 objects km-1 year-1 for Heard Island, and 9.1 objects km-1 year-1 for Macquarie Island. Drift cards released from known locations and collected on the two islands show a similar artefact catchment area. Plastic litter was a major component of the debris at both islands. Fisheries related debris accounted for 40% of all artefacts on Heard Island compared to 29% on Macquarie Island. Entanglement of fur seals appears to be more common at Heard Island, while plastic ingestion by seabirds appears more common at Macquarie Island.
More Papers Like This
The composition and origin of marine debris stranded on the shores of subantarctic Macquarie Island
AI summary Read the abstract
Scientists surveyed the beaches of remote Macquarie Island, located far from major cities in the subantarctic ocean, and still found plastic bottles, fishing gear, and other trash washed ashore from countries around the world. This shows that ocean plastic pollution travels huge distances and pollutes even the most isolated places on Earth, trash you throw away can end up thousands of miles from home, breaking down into smaller plastic bits that harm marine life and eventually work their way into the food chain we all rely on.
Floating macro- and microplastics around the Southern Ocean: Results from the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers surveyed floating macro- and microplastic pollution around the Southern Ocean islands, providing baseline abundance estimates for high southern latitudes. The data reveal that plastic contamination extends even to remote polar regions, with seabirds in the area confirmed to have been ingesting plastics since at least the 1960s.
Thirty years of marine debris in the Southern Ocean: Annual surveys of two island shores in the Scotia Sea
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers conducted 30 years of annual beach surveys at two remote Southern Ocean islands and found that plastic makes up over 84–97% of all debris collected, with the number of items increasing over time even as individual pieces get smaller and lighter. The long-term data underscore how pervasive plastic pollution has become even in the most isolated marine environments on Earth.
Species-, feeding type- and habitat-dependent intake of microplastics by Arctic and Antarctic marine invertebrates
AI summary Read the abstract
Scientists found tiny plastic bits (microplastics) in sea creatures living in remote Arctic and Antarctic waters — places far from major cities and factories — showing that plastic pollution has spread even to the most untouched corners of our oceans. Since these small creatures are eaten by fish and other animals up the food chain, this pollution could work its way toward the seafood many people eat, though more research is needed to understand exactly how much risk this poses to human health.
Remote Islands Reveal Rapid Rise of Southern Hemisphere Sea Debris
AI summary Read the abstract
Surveys of remote southern hemisphere islands showed that marine debris on shorelines — dominated by plastics — has increased substantially over recent decades, with floating plastic transporting organisms to places they have never existed before. The findings highlight that plastic pollution now threatens global biodiversity by serving as a vector for invasive species even in the most isolated parts of the ocean.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.