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Pollution and Monitoring in the Arctic
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This chapter reviews environmental monitoring in the Arctic, finding that local production facilities and settlements are the main pollution sources affecting all environmental compartments, and that microplastics are among the emerging contaminants being tracked.
This chapter provides a general idea of what environmental monitoring in the Arctic is, what objects are being investigated, and who are the main actors in organizing and conducting monitoring activities.We also consider the availability of environmental information on the Arctic and monitoring data. We find that the main sources of pollution of the Arctic nature are local production facilities and settlements. All environmental objects suffer from anthropogenic impact and related environmental pollution: water bodies, soils, atmospheric air, and bioresources. Toxic pollutants are detected in various samples. An analysis of peer-reviewed scientific articles and comprehensive reports of international organizations has shown that the problem of environmental pollution with persistent organic popllutants (POPs) and plastic (microplastics) are of the greatest concern. The concentrations many POPs in various samples are gradually decreasing, which indicates the effectiveness of the international measures taken. At the same time, the academic literature has noted the emergence of new substances that have raised new concerns. Publications on plastics to date have simply stated the discovery of microplastic particles in various objects of nature, including in the Arctic fauna. Data on possible effects on human or animal health has not yet been sufficient to draw unambiguous conclusions. The main stakeholders in environmental monitoring in the Arctic remain the Arctic States. At the same time, the positions of international entities are being strengthened; for example, within the framework of the Arctic Council or international environmental agreements. The results of the study indicate that not all environmental monitoring data in the Arctic are open to access. A significant revision of the existing regulation is required so that the boundaries between an open information and state secrets for ensuring the national security of the Arctic States become more clear.
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This review summarized evidence for microplastic contamination in Arctic and Antarctic environments — including water, sea ice, sediment, and biota — characterizing polar regions as sinks for globally transported plastic particles and calling for improved monitoring to track long-term trends.
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This review synthesizes current knowledge on microplastic sources, transport pathways, and fate in Arctic marine environments, examining how MPs present in sea ice, water columns, and marine biota reflect both local and long-range transport from lower latitudes.
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Researchers reviewed available evidence on plastic litter in the European Arctic, finding that despite limited data, microplastics are present in every environmental compartment — including sea ice — and are being transported to this remote region from distant sources via ocean currents and wind.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.