Surface microplastics in the Kara Sea: from the Kara Gate to the 83°N
Despite ongoing research into microplastics pollution in the Arctic Ocean, the region remains underexplored. In the Eurasian Arctic studies mainly focus on the Barents Sea, while there are only limited and variable data from few stations in the Kara Sea. The study aims to perform an extensive survey...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1268879/full |
| _version_ | 1797635047085309952 |
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| author | Anfisa Berezina Svetlana Pakhomova Igor Zhdanov Olga Mekhova Olga Mekhova Tatiana Polivanova Tatiana Polivanova Matvei Novikov Matvei Novikov Maria Pogojeva Maria Pogojeva Maria Pogojeva Alexander Osadchiev Alexander Osadchiev Natalia Stepanova Evgeniy Yakushev |
| author_facet | Anfisa Berezina Svetlana Pakhomova Igor Zhdanov Olga Mekhova Olga Mekhova Tatiana Polivanova Tatiana Polivanova Matvei Novikov Matvei Novikov Maria Pogojeva Maria Pogojeva Maria Pogojeva Alexander Osadchiev Alexander Osadchiev Natalia Stepanova Evgeniy Yakushev |
| author_sort | Anfisa Berezina |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite ongoing research into microplastics pollution in the Arctic Ocean, the region remains underexplored. In the Eurasian Arctic studies mainly focus on the Barents Sea, while there are only limited and variable data from few stations in the Kara Sea. The study aims to perform an extensive survey of microplastics floating on the sea surface in the Kara Sea. The sampling throughout the Kara Sea was carried out using a neuston net in the August 2021 starting from the Kara Gate strait, reaching 83N latitude and ending in the north-eastern part of the Barents Sea along the border with the Kara Sea. Average abundance of microplastics was 0.124 ± 0.383 items/m3 in the Kara Sea. The Kara Gate exhibited the highest abundance of microplastics (0.93 ± 0.73 items/m3), suggesting that it is an important source of the microplastics pollution of the Kara Sea. The results suggest that the Ob and Yenisey rivers do not substantially contribute to the microplastic pollution of the Kara Sea due to significantly lower concentrations in the river plume water (0.008 ± 0.009 items/m3) compared to the other regions of the Kara Sea. Further, the river plume differs in chemical composition of microplastics dominated by expanded polystyrene (EPS) particles (52%) in contrast to other regions where the predominant polymer is polyethylene (PE) (64-77%). The study highlights the potential of the Kara Sea to accumulate the microplastics due to its semi-enclosed nature and complex interaction between inflow of waters originating from the North Atlantic and Ob-Yenisey river plume. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T12:15:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-67dd2c65f67a4ba19901d65083d0ae52 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T12:15:42Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-67dd2c65f67a4ba19901d65083d0ae522023-11-07T09:10:44ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452023-11-011010.3389/fmars.2023.12688791268879Surface microplastics in the Kara Sea: from the Kara Gate to the 83°NAnfisa Berezina0Svetlana Pakhomova1Igor Zhdanov2Olga Mekhova3Olga Mekhova4Tatiana Polivanova5Tatiana Polivanova6Matvei Novikov7Matvei Novikov8Maria Pogojeva9Maria Pogojeva10Maria Pogojeva11Alexander Osadchiev12Alexander Osadchiev13Natalia Stepanova14Evgeniy Yakushev15Oceanography Section and Water Chemistry Analysis Section, Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Oslo, NorwayOceanography Section and Water Chemistry Analysis Section, Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Oslo, NorwayShirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaShirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaInstitute of Earth Sciences, St. Petersburg State University, St Petersburg, RussiaShirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaFaculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, RussiaShirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaMarine Research Center of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, RussiaShirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaMarine Environmental Monitoring Laboratory, N.N.Zubov’s State Oceanographic Institute, Moscow, RussiaLaboratory of Integrated Research of the Arctic “Land-Shelf” System, National Research Tomsk State University, Tomsk, RussiaShirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaMoscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Arctic Oceanography Laboratory, Dolgoprudny, RussiaShirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaOceanography Section and Water Chemistry Analysis Section, Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Oslo, NorwayDespite ongoing research into microplastics pollution in the Arctic Ocean, the region remains underexplored. In the Eurasian Arctic studies mainly focus on the Barents Sea, while there are only limited and variable data from few stations in the Kara Sea. The study aims to perform an extensive survey of microplastics floating on the sea surface in the Kara Sea. The sampling throughout the Kara Sea was carried out using a neuston net in the August 2021 starting from the Kara Gate strait, reaching 83N latitude and ending in the north-eastern part of the Barents Sea along the border with the Kara Sea. Average abundance of microplastics was 0.124 ± 0.383 items/m3 in the Kara Sea. The Kara Gate exhibited the highest abundance of microplastics (0.93 ± 0.73 items/m3), suggesting that it is an important source of the microplastics pollution of the Kara Sea. The results suggest that the Ob and Yenisey rivers do not substantially contribute to the microplastic pollution of the Kara Sea due to significantly lower concentrations in the river plume water (0.008 ± 0.009 items/m3) compared to the other regions of the Kara Sea. Further, the river plume differs in chemical composition of microplastics dominated by expanded polystyrene (EPS) particles (52%) in contrast to other regions where the predominant polymer is polyethylene (PE) (64-77%). The study highlights the potential of the Kara Sea to accumulate the microplastics due to its semi-enclosed nature and complex interaction between inflow of waters originating from the North Atlantic and Ob-Yenisey river plume.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1268879/fullmicroplasticArcticKara SeaKara GateOb and Yenisey plumes |
| spellingShingle | Anfisa Berezina Svetlana Pakhomova Igor Zhdanov Olga Mekhova Olga Mekhova Tatiana Polivanova Tatiana Polivanova Matvei Novikov Matvei Novikov Maria Pogojeva Maria Pogojeva Maria Pogojeva Alexander Osadchiev Alexander Osadchiev Natalia Stepanova Evgeniy Yakushev Surface microplastics in the Kara Sea: from the Kara Gate to the 83°N Frontiers in Marine Science microplastic Arctic Kara Sea Kara Gate Ob and Yenisey plumes |
| title | Surface microplastics in the Kara Sea: from the Kara Gate to the 83°N |
| title_full | Surface microplastics in the Kara Sea: from the Kara Gate to the 83°N |
| title_fullStr | Surface microplastics in the Kara Sea: from the Kara Gate to the 83°N |
| title_full_unstemmed | Surface microplastics in the Kara Sea: from the Kara Gate to the 83°N |
| title_short | Surface microplastics in the Kara Sea: from the Kara Gate to the 83°N |
| title_sort | surface microplastics in the kara sea from the kara gate to the 83°n |
| topic | microplastic Arctic Kara Sea Kara Gate Ob and Yenisey plumes |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1268879/full |
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