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Microplastics may affect how Arctic sea ice forms and melts
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A commentary highlights that rising levels of ocean microplastics may be altering the physical and chemical properties of Arctic sea ice, though more research is urgently needed to understand how this could affect polar ecosystems and climate feedbacks.
Levels of microplastics in the ocean are rising. More study is needed to figure out how these microplastics affect the qualities and properties of sea ice, and what the potential impact may be.
More Papers Like This
Global warming releases microplastic legacy frozen in Arctic Sea ice
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Researchers demonstrated that Arctic sea ice stores a legacy microplastic burden accumulated over decades, and that accelerating sea ice melt from global warming will increasingly release these stored plastics back into the ocean.
Microplastics: we’ve found startling quantities in the ice algae that are essential for all Arctic marine life
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Researchers found startling quantities of microplastics contaminating Arctic sea ice algae, the foundational food source for the entire Arctic marine ecosystem, raising concerns about ecosystem-wide contamination and climate feedback effects. Because sea ice algae are consumed by zooplankton, fish, and marine mammals, this contamination creates a pathway for microplastics to enter the Arctic food web and eventually reach human consumers of Arctic seafood.
How microplastics affect Earth’s climate
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This is a news article from Chemical and Engineering News summarizing how microplastics may influence Earth's climate; it does not present original experimental findings.
Distribution and impacts of microplastic incorporation within sea ice
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Researchers experimentally incorporated microplastics into sea ice to investigate their distribution and impact on ice properties, finding that microplastics concentrate within sea ice at levels far exceeding surface seawater and that their presence alters the physical and optical properties of the ice.
Effects of Microplastics in the Cryosphere
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Microplastics have been detected at surprisingly high concentrations in cryosphere environments including glaciers, sea ice, and polar snow, where they accumulate through atmospheric deposition and meltwater dynamics. The shrinking of cryosphere regions due to climate change may release stored microplastics back into oceans and freshwater systems, compounding global pollution burdens.
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.