The Arctic Ocean as a dead end for floating plastics in the North Atlantic branch of the Thermohaline Circulation

• Published in: Science Advances
• Main Authors: Cózar, Andrés, Martí, Elisa, Duarte, Carlos M., García de Lomas, Juan, van Sebille, E., Ballatore, Thomas J., Eguíluz, Víctor M., González-Gordillo, J. Ignacio, Pedrotti, M.L., Echevarría, F., Troublè, Romain, Irigoien, Xabier
• Other Authors: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France), Agence Nationale de la Recherche (France), European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Commission, Veolia Foundation, Région Bretagne, Lorient Agglomération, World Courier, Illumina, Fondation EDF, Fondation pour la Recherche sur la Biodiversité, Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco, Tara Foundation, Ministère des Affaires étrangères (France), Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Fundación BBVA, Campus de Excelencia Internacional del Mar (España)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science 2017
• Subjects: Arctic waters; North Atlantic; Floating plastic debris; Thermohaline circulation; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Greenland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/174104; https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1600582; https://doi.org/10.13039/501100003329; https://doi.org/10.13039/501100003388; https://doi.org/10.13039/501100004794; https://doi.org/10.13039/100007406; https://doi.org/10.13039/501100004052; https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000780; https://doi.org/10.13039/501100003137; https://doi.org/10.13039/501100001665; https://doi.org/10.13039/100010905; https://doi.org/10.13039/100013060; https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011560; https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011697

The subtropical ocean gyres are recognized as great marine accummulation zones of floating plastic debris; however, the possibility of plastic accumulation at polar latitudes has been overlooked because of the lack of nearby pollution sources. In the present study, the Arctic Ocean was extensively sampled for floating plastic debris from the Tara Oceans circumpolar expedition. Although plastic debris was scarce or absent in most of the Arctic waters, it reached high concentrations (hundreds of thousands of pieces per square kilometer) in the northernmost and easternmost areas of the Greenland and Barents seas. The fragmentation and typology of the plastic suggested an abundant presence of aged debris that originated from distant sources. This hypothesis was corroborated by the relatively high ratios of marine surface plastic to local pollution sources. Surface circulation models and field data showed that the poleward branch of the Thermohaline Circulation transfers floating debris from the North Atlantic to the Greenland and Barents seas, which would be a dead end for this plastic conveyor belt. Given the limited surface transport of the plastic that accumulated here and the mechanisms acting for the downward transport, the seafloor beneath this Arctic sector is hypothesized as an important sink of plastic debris. Tara Oceans particularly acknowledges the commitment of the following sponsors: the CNRS (in particular Groupement de Recherche GDR3280), the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Genoscope/CEA, French Government “Investissements d’Avenir” programs OCEANOMICS (ANR-11-BTBR-0008) and FRANCE GENOMIQUE (ANR-10-INBS-09-08), Agence Nationale de la Recherche, and European Union FP7 (Micro B3 no. 287589). We appreciate the support and commitment of agnès b. and E. Bourgois, Veolia Environment Foundation, Region Bretagne, Lorient Agglomeration, World Courier, Illumina, Eléctricité de France Foundation, Fondation pour la recherche sur la biodiversité, Prince Albert II de Monaco Foundation, Tara Foundation, ...