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Sea ice as hotspot for plastic pollution in the Arctic: micro and nano-plastics occurrence and impact on the Central Arctic
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This conference abstract presents MOSAiC expedition research on microplastic and nanoplastic concentrations in Arctic sea ice, using particle transport models to trace how these particles accumulate in ice during formation and are released upon melting. The study highlights sea ice as a critical hotspot for microplastic accumulation in the central Arctic Ocean.
lka Peeken*1, Elisa Bergami2, Ilaria Corsi2, Benedikt Hufnagl3, Christian Katllein1, Thomas Krumpen1, Martin Löder4, Qiuang Wang1, Claudia Wekerle1 Sea ice cores, collected in the Arctic Ocean have so far revealed extremely high concentrations of very small microplastic particles with a unique footprint, which were related to different water masses (Peeken 2018). High concentrations of nano- and microplastics (NP/ MP) might be transferred in the ecosystem with so far unknown consequences for the ice dependant marine food chain. Climate change in the Arctic include loss of sea ice, therefore, large fractions of the embedded plastic particles might be released and have an impact on living systems. Currently nothing is known about the entrainment processes of NP/MP occurring at the water/sea-ice interface, the fate of those particles and their long-range transport. MOSAiC allowed for the unique opportunity to sample NP/MP in different ice types and seasons throughout the drift of the experiment. We present an approach which strongly benefits from the detailed sea ice, oceanographic, atmospheric and climate studies from MOSAiC allowing to realistically model the sea ice origin and growth, MP particle trajectories in the water column as well as MPs long-range transport via particle tracking and transport models. These models will help to understand the sources and pathways of NP/MP in the Arctic Ocean and beyond and how this might affect the Arctic ecosystem. The main goals of this research initiative is: I. to generate an extensive MOSAiC NP/MP data set for sea ice and water, II. to use machine learning tools for fast and reliable classification of MPs from the large MOSAiC data set, III. to identify sources and pathways of NP/MP in sea ice and ocean by combining satellite remote sensing tools, high-resolution ocean model data, MOSAiC measurement data and extensive NP/MP data, IV. to estimate the extent of NP/MP pollution in the Arctic Ocean by synthesis of NP/MP data and model results and disseminate the results to political, scientific and public stakeholders.
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