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The Composition of Polluting Materials in the Marine Waters of the Arctic Zone of Russia
Summary
Researchers analyzed 99 surface water samples collected via 335-micron Manta nets across Arctic Sea shelf and Barents Sea survey areas during 2019-2021 expeditions, finding a mean plastic concentration of 0.032 units/m3 with polyethylene, polypropylene, LDPE, HDPE, and polystyrene as dominant polymer types, and observing no localized plastic concentration hotspots within the Russian Arctic zone.
Updated data on the state of aquatic biological resources and their habitat to determine possible environmental risks and anthropogenic impacts on biotopes of natural ecosystems are essential for the development of the Russian Arctic. The article provides the analysis of 99 samples collected by the Manta network of 335 microns for the assessment of microplastic contamination of the surface waters of the Arctic Seas during complex surveys of the VNIRO in 2019-2021. The research in the offshore and coastal parts of the Arctic Sea shelf and the eastern part of the Barents Sea has not revealed the existence of local concentrations of plastic and plastic debris within the borders of the Russian part of the Arctic region. The differences in plastic pollution of the water surface in the eastern part of the Barents Sea, the marine and coastal parts of the Arctic Seas shelf are presented. The average concentration of plastic in the entire research area of 2019-2021 surveys was 0.032 plastic units per m3. In the eastern part of the Barents Sea in 2021, it amounted to 0.040 units/m3, in the offshore part of the shelf in 2019-2020, it reached 0.026 units/m3, in the coastal part of the shelf – 0.028 units/m3. The research demonstrated a high occurrence of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), low-pressure polyethylene (LDPE), high-pressure polyethylene (HDPE) and polystyrene (PS) in water samples, which is consistent with the volume of European production of the most common types of polymers. At the moment, quantitative estimates of plastic content in the surface waters of the Arctic Seas can be conditionally taken as "initial" or "zero" indicators, that is vital for ensuring the safety of food products made of aquatic biological resources in the Arctic region.
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