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Preliminary results of observations of microplastics during ice formation in the Kara Sea
Summary
This preliminary study from a 2023 Russian Arctic expedition measured microplastic concentrations during ice formation in the Kara Sea, one of the Arctic Ocean's most productive but least-studied regions. The data contributes to understanding how sea ice formation concentrates and redistributes microplastics in the Arctic, where they accumulate far from their original sources.
In early November 2023, the 92nd scientific survey of the R/V "Academician Mstislav Keldysh" to the Kara Sea was completed. The main areas of work of the expedition of the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the 92nd scientific voyage (head of the expedition, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Mikhail Flint) are climatic trends and accumulated environmental risks in Arctic ecosystems [1]. One of the objectives of the multidisciplinary research of the expedition was to collect samples of microplastics by the Manta neuston network 335 mkm to assess its quantity and distribution pattern in the surface during ice formation in the Kara Sea. The scientific work carried out by VNIRO scientists within the framework of the Agreement of Intent on Cooperation in Research Activities between VNIRO and IO RAS dated 07.08.2018 and the Program of Joint Scientific Research of Rosrybolovstvo and the Russian Academy of Sciences for 2021 and Subsequent years dated March 3, 2021, allowed updating data on the distribution of microplastics, fibers and other anthropogenic pollutants in various areas of the sea, including its bays, gulfs and the waters at the edge of the ice. Observations in October 2023 did not reveal localization and abnormal concentrations of microplastics within the boundaries of the surveyed water area.