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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Microplastics in sea ice: A fingerprint of bubble flotation
ClearEntrainment and Enrichment of Microplastics in Ice Formation Processes: Implications for the Transport of Microplastics in Cold Regions
Researchers investigated how microplastic properties and environmental conditions affect their entrainment and enrichment during ice formation, finding that sea ice selectively concentrates microplastics and can serve as both a temporary sink and a transport medium in cold regions.
Distribution and impacts of microplastic incorporation within sea ice
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.
Physical processes behind interactions of microplastic particles with natural ice
Researchers investigated the physical processes governing microplastic incorporation into sea ice, finding that particle size, density, and surface properties — combined with ice crystal growth dynamics — determine whether microplastics concentrate in brine channels or become entrapped in the ice matrix.
Micro- and nanoplastic transfer in freezing saltwater: implications for their fate in polar waters
Researchers investigated the fate of micro- and nanoplastics during sea-ice formation using a novel experimental system that simulated progressive saltwater freezing, measuring how plastics partition between ice and liquid phases and assessing implications for plastic accumulation and transport in Arctic environments.
Frazil Ice FormationCauses Divergent Levels of Microplasticand Nanoplastic Accumulation in Sea Ice
Researchers experimentally quantified micro- and nanoplastic enrichment by frazil ice formation, finding that high-density microplastic concentrations were approximately 2.97 times higher in sea ice than in underlying seawater, while nanoplastics showed divergent accumulation behavior based on particle size.
Frazil Ice FormationCauses Divergent Levels of Microplasticand Nanoplastic Accumulation in Sea Ice
Researchers experimentally quantified micro- and nanoplastic enrichment by frazil ice formation, finding that high-density microplastic concentrations were approximately 2.97 times higher in sea ice than in underlying seawater, while nanoplastics showed divergent accumulation behavior based on particle size.
Distribution of microplastics between ice and water in aquatic systems: The influence of particle properties, salinity and freshwater characteristics
Laboratory freezing experiments showed that ice formation in both saltwater and freshwater captures microplastics, but the extent varies significantly with water chemistry, particle shape, and suspended solids — fiber-shaped particles were far less likely to be trapped in ice than fragments. In cold climates, ice can act as a seasonal reservoir that concentrates microplastics and then releases them in large pulses when it melts, making spring snowmelt a potentially significant delivery event for aquatic ecosystems. These findings are relevant for understanding microplastic dynamics in Arctic, subarctic, and temperate freshwater systems.
Frazil Ice Formation Causes Divergent Levels of Microplastic and Nanoplastic Accumulation in Sea Ice
Researchers used laboratory experiments to directly test for the first time whether frazil ice — the tiny ice crystals that form at the ocean surface in polar regions — concentrates microplastics and nanoplastics as it forms. They found that microplastics were enriched nearly three times in the ice relative to the underlying seawater, consistent with field observations of high microplastic levels in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice. Nanoplastics, however, behaved more like salt ions and were actually excluded from the bulk ice, potentially concentrating instead in the briny pockets where polar microorganisms live. This distinction between how micro- and nanoplastics behave in polar ice has important implications for understanding their ecological impact in polar food webs.
Vertical re-distribution of microplastics particles in sea ice due to cooling/warming cycles: A laboratory experiment
Researchers investigated how microplastic particles redistribute vertically within sea ice during cooling and warming cycles, identifying four relocation mechanisms including brine sinking, gas bubble flotation, brine density adjustment, and convective circulation. They found that the center of mass of polystyrene fragments shifted only a few millimeters per week in either direction, providing a quantitative baseline for modeling field contamination patterns.
Modeling the Accumulation and Transport of Microplastics by Sea Ice
Researchers used numerical modeling to examine how positively and neutrally buoyant microplastics accumulate in and are transported by Arctic and Southern Ocean sea ice, finding that sea ice acts as a significant seasonal reservoir and redistribution mechanism for microplastic pollution in polar regions.
Revealing the Freezing-Induced Alteration in Microplastic Behavior and Its Implication for the Microplastics Released from Seasonal Ice
Researchers revealed how freeze-thaw cycling alters microplastic behavior in environmental matrices, finding that freezing changes particle aggregation, surface properties, and transport dynamics with implications for polar and seasonally frozen environments.
Microplastic Particles and Fibers in Seasonal Ice of the Northern Baltic Sea
This study characterized microplastic particles and fibers in seasonal ice samples from the northern Baltic Sea, finding that ice acts as a seasonal reservoir that concentrates and then releases microplastics upon melting.
Arctic sea ice is an important temporal sink and means of transport for microplastic
This study showed that Arctic sea ice acts as a significant temporary reservoir for microplastics, trapping particles that are then released when ice melts, making sea ice both a sink and a transport mechanism for microplastic pollution.
Global warming releases microplastic legacy frozen in Arctic Sea ice
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.
Microplastic accumulation in one-year freshwater ice: A four-year monitoring study reveals winter dynamics of microplastics
A four-year study of freshwater ice near Finnish urban areas found microplastic concentrations one to two orders of magnitude higher in ice than in the open surface water below, confirming that ice acts as a seasonal trap for microplastics. When ice and snow melt each spring, those concentrated microplastics flush into sediments and water bodies at once, creating a pulse of plastic pollution that is easy to overlook in warm-weather monitoring programs.
Microplastics in sea ice and seawater beneath ice floes from the Arctic Ocean
Microplastic concentrations in Arctic sea ice were orders of magnitude higher than in the underlying seawater, with 2 to 17 particles per liter in ice versus 0 to 18 particles per cubic meter beneath floes in the Central Basin. Backward trajectory modeling suggested the sea ice originated from the Siberian shelf and other Arctic regions, consistent with long-range transport of microplastics to the pole.
The spatial distribution and abundance of microplastics in lake waters and ice during ice-free and ice-covered periods
Researchers investigated how lake ice affects microplastic distribution in Lake Ulansuhai, finding that ice formation traps and concentrates microplastics, altering their spatial distribution and abundance between ice-covered and ice-free periods.
Sea ice and a wastewater outlet identified as hotspots for anthropogenic microlitter in Svalbard waters
Researchers identified Arctic sea ice and a wastewater outlet in Svalbard as hotspots for microplastic accumulation in Arctic waters. Sea ice acted as a temporary reservoir for plastic particles that were then released into the water column during melting, suggesting that Arctic ice could be an important, underappreciated source of microplastic contamination in polar seas.
Seasonal ice encapsulation: the pivotal influence on microplastic transport and fate in cold regions
This study examines how seasonal ice encapsulation influences the transport and fate of microplastics in cold regions, noting that the small size and stability of microplastics allow them to persist even in remote environments including the Arctic and Antarctic. The authors analyze how freeze-thaw cycles and ice dynamics play a pivotal role in controlling microplastic distribution in these ecosystems.
Nanoplastics Distribution during Ice Formation: Insights into Natural Surface Water Freezing Conditions
Laboratory experiments simulating natural surface water freezing found that nanoplastics were excluded from forming ice and concentrated in unfrozen water regions, with a new local distribution coefficient developed to better characterize nanoplastic behavior during freeze-thaw cycles.
Microplastics affect marine snow formation and sinking to the ocean's interior
Researchers conducted laboratory and onboard ship incubations to investigate how microplastics influence marine snow formation and sinking behavior, finding that microplastics significantly enhanced aggregate formation by providing hydrophobic interfaces that promote adhesion with organic matter, with polymer density and morphology modulating aggregate sinking rates.
[Distribution Characteristics of Microplastics in Ice Sheets and Its Response to Salinity and Chlorophyll a in the Lake Wuliangsuhai].
This study characterized microplastics in ice sheets of Lake Wuliangsuhai in Inner Mongolia, China, finding that seasonal ice formation affects the concentration and distribution of microplastics in the lake. Ice-covered freshwater lakes can trap and concentrate microplastics seasonally, releasing them during spring thaw.
Microplastic contamination in east Antarctic sea ice
Researchers analyzed an ice core from East Antarctic land-fast sea ice using micro-FTIR spectroscopy, finding 96 microplastic particles dominated by polyester and polypropylene, providing direct evidence that microplastics are incorporated into Antarctic sea ice.
Microplastics in landfast sea ice of Alaskan Arctic: Characteristics and potential sources
Microplastics were found at concentrations averaging 221 particles per liter in Alaskan Arctic landfast sea ice, with over 80% of particles smaller than 50 micrometers — small enough to be readily ingested by marine organisms. The sea ice near Barrow acts as a seasonal reservoir that traps microplastics from Pacific Ocean currents and then releases them when the ice melts, exposing Arctic marine ecosystems to a pulse of pollution each spring. The dominance of polyamide and polyethylene points to fishing gear and packaging waste as primary sources.