Plastic Is Found Everywhere In The Arctic - The Simple Truth
SCIENCE
Writer: Helge M. Markusson, Fram Center
Photographs: Bo Eide, Linnea Nordström
December 2019
Plastic is ubiquitous in the Arctic. In other words, it can be found everywhere. This is the conclusion of scientists Claudia Halsband from Akvaplan-niva and Dorte Herzke from NILU (Norwegian Institute for Air Research) in a newly published report in a project titled: Plastic in the European Arctic: What do we know?
Well, it turns out we know a lot, but not nearly enough and knowledge gaps are many.
The two researchers who are both associated with the Fram Center, have reviewed currently available published research material on plastic pollution in the Arctic, covering a vast geographical Arctic area and based on varying methods. Their findings also show that this new type of pollution is causing problems in remote Arctic areas, even those at a great distance from densely populated parts of the word.
In short, the report shows that the Arctic is under threat and may suffer further negative impact if plastic enters the food chain. But there is more to consider.
Global and growing problem
The increase in the volume of plastic litter is directly related to the increase in plastic production every year. When mass production of plastic started in the 1950s, annual production volumes were less than 2 million tonnes. 335 million tonnes were produced in 2016.
Plastic pollution in general – and in the world’s oceans in particular – has emerged as a major environmental problem worldwide, and is now acknowledged as a threat to all ecosystems. More recent estimates predict that 5-12 million tonnes of plastic end up in the world’s oceans every year.
The data reviewed by the researchers in Tromsø show that the impact of plastic litter pollution is just as severe in the Arctic as in more populated areas farther south. Further studies are required to uncover whether this is particularly the case for the European Arctic area, which has a huge flow of water from the Atlantic Current.
Not everything that is white and floating in Arctic waters should actually be there. Plastic waste close to the Arctic captal of Tromsö. JONAA©Linnea Nordström
Multiple sources for plastic in Arctic waters
There are many reasons why plastic ends up in our oceans. Mismanagement of waste from coastal towns and cities situated on large rivers and insufficient wastewater treatment, are the main entry routes for plastic litter in the oceans.
Growing urban populations in the European sector, Canada and Alaska will generate more plastic litter than the depopulating rural areas along the Russian coasts, and will generate accumulations of plastic litter in the Arctic. The flow of plastic into the Arctic environment from land depends on local and regional developments. Moreover, the implementation of appropriate waste facilities and recycling plants – or the lack of such infrastructure – will have a vital impact. Purification plants for wastewater, for example, are not common in thinly populated Arctic regions.
Plastic litter is directly proportionate to plastic consumption. Plastic litter from industrialised and densely populated areas is dispersed into the environment on a global scale. It also reaches the remote and seemingly untouched Arctic Ocean.
The ocean currents carry the plastic with them. Several large ocean areas, such as the Fram Strait, the Bering Strait and the Alaskan Archipelago, provide direct access to the Arctic. However, atmospheric distribution with winds also plays a role in long-range transport of plastic, particularly the smallest particles of plastic.
The data reviewed by the researchers in Tromsø show that the impact of plastic litter pollution is just as severe in the Arctic as in more populated areas farther south. Further studies are required to uncover whether this is particularly the case for the European Arctic area, which has a huge flow of water from the Atlantic Current.
There are several knowledge gaps regarding distribution, transport and impact of plastic litter in Arctic waters.
This research project which is titled: Plastic in the European Arctic: What do we know? has brought forth information on multiple sources for the existence of plastic in the Arctic, and at the same time the researchers have identified knowledge gaps regarding the distribution, transport and impact of plastic litter in Arctic systems. Such gaps are portrayed in this picture:
Red arrows = plastic litter input.
Yellow arrows = transport pathways.
Orange arrows = food web transfer.
Important to understand distribution patterns
The very first reports of plastic pollution in the Arctic date back to the 1970s. Research published in 1980 describes observations of marine plastic on beaches on Amchitka, one of the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea. The intertidal zones on the beaches were surveyed once a year for a period of three years, showing that the total number of plastic pieces increased from more than 2,200 to more than 5,300 in a two-year period. The accumulation rate by weight was almost 60% per year. Most of the plastic litter came from fishing vessels, but some objects had travelled more than 1,000 km from the Asian coast. This was the very first demonstration of long-range transport of plastic.
“If we are to understand the transport of plastic litter into the Arctic, we first have to understand the regional distribution patterns within the Arctic, and temporal trends. We need knowledge of local sources, as well as understanding that their contributions to plastic pollution in the Arctic are of importance. But we also need knowledge of the sources and transport pathways from more densely populated areas farther south,” says Claudia Halsband.
Researcher Dorthe Herzke from NILU, Norwegian Institute for Air Research. JONAA©Helge M. Markusson
Researcher Claudia Halsband from Akvaplan-niva. JONAA©Fram Center
Negative impact if plastic enters the food chain
In their published article, the two researchers conclude that we currently lack sufficient knowledge of the dispersal and effect of plastic litter in the Arctic.
“The Arctic is under threat and may suffer a negative impact if plastic enters the food chain. Taking into account the fact that macroplastics and, in particular, microplastics cannot be efficiently removed from the Arctic, we need to obtain a deeper understanding of the situation. Even more importantly, we need to understand what will happen when this interacts with climate change, pollution by other environmental toxins and ocean acidification. Future studies should focus on filling the current knowledge and data gaps, as well as their relevance for risk and impact assessments,” say both researchers. ▢
References & further reading
ScienceDirect.Claudia Halsband and Dorte Herzke:Plastic litter in the European Arctic: What do we know?
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405665018300246
Helge M. Markusson works as Outreach Coordinator at The Fram Centre (FRAM High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment). Author and columnist. Former journalist of newspapers, radio and TV. Has also been involved in a series of smaller and bigger culture projects. Raised in Northern Norway, living in Tromsø, Norway. Helge is a member of the JONAA founding team.
