Pervasive distribution of polyester fibres in the Arctic Ocean is driven by Atlantic inputs
Abstract Microplastics are increasingly recognized as ubiquitous global contaminants, but questions linger regarding their source, transport and fate. We document the widespread distribution of microplastics in near-surface seawater from 71 stations across the European and North American Arctic - in...
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2021
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20347-1 http://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-20347-1.pdf http://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-20347-1 |
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crspringernat:10.1038/s41467-020-20347-1 2023-05-15T14:44:38+02:00 Pervasive distribution of polyester fibres in the Arctic Ocean is driven by Atlantic inputs Ross, Peter S. Chastain, Stephen Vassilenko, Ekaterina Etemadifar, Anahita Zimmermann, Sarah Quesnel, Sarah-Ann Eert, Jane Solomon, Eric Patankar, Shreyas Posacka, Anna M. Williams, Bill Fisheries and Oceans Canada 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20347-1 http://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-20347-1.pdf http://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-20347-1 en eng Springer Science and Business Media LLC https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 CC-BY Nature Communications volume 12, issue 1 ISSN 2041-1723 General Physics and Astronomy General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology General Chemistry journal-article 2021 crspringernat https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20347-1 2022-01-04T08:59:25Z Abstract Microplastics are increasingly recognized as ubiquitous global contaminants, but questions linger regarding their source, transport and fate. We document the widespread distribution of microplastics in near-surface seawater from 71 stations across the European and North American Arctic - including the North Pole. We also characterize samples to a depth of 1,015 m in the Beaufort Sea. Particle abundance correlated with longitude, with almost three times more particles in the eastern Arctic compared to the west. Polyester comprised 73% of total synthetic fibres, with an east-to-west shift in infra-red signatures pointing to a potential weathering of fibres away from source. Here we suggest that relatively fresh polyester fibres are delivered to the eastern Arctic Ocean, via Atlantic Ocean inputs and/or atmospheric transport from the South. This raises further questions about the global reach of textile fibres in domestic wastewater, with our findings pointing to their widespread distribution in this remote region of the world. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Ocean Beaufort Sea Springer Nature (via Crossref) Arctic Arctic Ocean North Pole Nature Communications 12 1 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Springer Nature (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crspringernat |
language |
English |
topic |
General Physics and Astronomy General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology General Chemistry |
spellingShingle |
General Physics and Astronomy General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology General Chemistry Ross, Peter S. Chastain, Stephen Vassilenko, Ekaterina Etemadifar, Anahita Zimmermann, Sarah Quesnel, Sarah-Ann Eert, Jane Solomon, Eric Patankar, Shreyas Posacka, Anna M. Williams, Bill Pervasive distribution of polyester fibres in the Arctic Ocean is driven by Atlantic inputs |
topic_facet |
General Physics and Astronomy General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology General Chemistry |
description |
Abstract Microplastics are increasingly recognized as ubiquitous global contaminants, but questions linger regarding their source, transport and fate. We document the widespread distribution of microplastics in near-surface seawater from 71 stations across the European and North American Arctic - including the North Pole. We also characterize samples to a depth of 1,015 m in the Beaufort Sea. Particle abundance correlated with longitude, with almost three times more particles in the eastern Arctic compared to the west. Polyester comprised 73% of total synthetic fibres, with an east-to-west shift in infra-red signatures pointing to a potential weathering of fibres away from source. Here we suggest that relatively fresh polyester fibres are delivered to the eastern Arctic Ocean, via Atlantic Ocean inputs and/or atmospheric transport from the South. This raises further questions about the global reach of textile fibres in domestic wastewater, with our findings pointing to their widespread distribution in this remote region of the world. |
author2 |
Fisheries and Oceans Canada |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ross, Peter S. Chastain, Stephen Vassilenko, Ekaterina Etemadifar, Anahita Zimmermann, Sarah Quesnel, Sarah-Ann Eert, Jane Solomon, Eric Patankar, Shreyas Posacka, Anna M. Williams, Bill |
author_facet |
Ross, Peter S. Chastain, Stephen Vassilenko, Ekaterina Etemadifar, Anahita Zimmermann, Sarah Quesnel, Sarah-Ann Eert, Jane Solomon, Eric Patankar, Shreyas Posacka, Anna M. Williams, Bill |
author_sort |
Ross, Peter S. |
title |
Pervasive distribution of polyester fibres in the Arctic Ocean is driven by Atlantic inputs |
title_short |
Pervasive distribution of polyester fibres in the Arctic Ocean is driven by Atlantic inputs |
title_full |
Pervasive distribution of polyester fibres in the Arctic Ocean is driven by Atlantic inputs |
title_fullStr |
Pervasive distribution of polyester fibres in the Arctic Ocean is driven by Atlantic inputs |
title_full_unstemmed |
Pervasive distribution of polyester fibres in the Arctic Ocean is driven by Atlantic inputs |
title_sort |
pervasive distribution of polyester fibres in the arctic ocean is driven by atlantic inputs |
publisher |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20347-1 http://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-20347-1.pdf http://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-20347-1 |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean North Pole |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean North Pole |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Beaufort Sea |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Beaufort Sea |
op_source |
Nature Communications volume 12, issue 1 ISSN 2041-1723 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20347-1 |
container_title |
Nature Communications |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766316120264933376 |