In a new study published in Nature Communications, researchers confirmed that microplastics are found throughout the Arctic Ocean from Europe to the North Pole and the North American Arctic. Their presence raises concerns that textiles, laundry, and municipal wastewater may be an essential source of these emerging pollutants.
Microplastics are particles less than five millimeters long.
We found an average of 49 microplastic particles per cubic meter of seawater throughout the Arctic, illustrating just how widespread synthetic plastic pollution has become in this remote region.
This is lower than concentrations found in more urbanized areas in the South but approaching levels found in the open Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
The researcher collected a total of 71 near-surface samples were collected across the Arctic. We also gathered 26 samples from the Beaufort Sea from just below the surface down to a depth of 1,015 meters. We then filtered and analyzed the samples back at the Ocean Wise Plastics Lab using microscopes and spectroscopy to identify plastic polymers. Of these, 92 percent were fibers, averaging 14 microns (0.
014 mm) thick and 1,100 microns (1.1 mm) long. We documented every color imaginable: red, blue, yellow, green, but perhaps the most striking finding in the lab was that 73 percent of these fibers were polyester.
There is much bad news about the environment these days. So, we all should work together for environmental concerns for the reduction of microfiber pollution.
