The utility of monitoring snow for microplastics in the Arctic: a pilot study from Iqaluktuuttiaq, Nunavut
Plastic pollution, including microplastics (<5 mm) has been identified as an emerging contaminant of Arctic concern and has been observed in wildlife, water, sediment, air, and snow. Because snow is relatively easy to sample and process for microplastics, it may be a useful compartment to monitor...
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Canadian Science Publishing
2024
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0041 https://doaj.org/article/621d276903674e2286c4abeadaa98024 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:621d276903674e2286c4abeadaa98024 2024-09-15T17:50:26+00:00 The utility of monitoring snow for microplastics in the Arctic: a pilot study from Iqaluktuuttiaq, Nunavut Bonnie M. Hamilton Les N. Harris Jennifer F. Provencher Chelsea M. Rochman 2024-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0041 https://doaj.org/article/621d276903674e2286c4abeadaa98024 EN FR eng fre Canadian Science Publishing https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/as-2023-0041 https://doaj.org/toc/2368-7460 doi:10.1139/as-2023-0041 2368-7460 https://doaj.org/article/621d276903674e2286c4abeadaa98024 Arctic Science, Vol 10, Iss 3, Pp 476-482 (2024) plastic pollution long-range transport polar atmospheric deposition Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 article 2024 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0041 2024-09-02T15:34:35Z Plastic pollution, including microplastics (<5 mm) has been identified as an emerging contaminant of Arctic concern and has been observed in wildlife, water, sediment, air, and snow. Because snow is relatively easy to sample and process for microplastics, it may be a useful compartment to monitor to assess patterns of microplastic contamination in polar regions. Microplastics can enter the Arctic through both long-range transport pathways and from local sources. By sampling snow across spatial scales, and multiple distances from local communities, researchers can explore local and distant sources of microplastics, thereby informing management strategies. With this in mind, we aimed to quantify mass concentrations of microplastics in snow samples collected north-east of Iqaluktuuttiaq, Nunavut. We sampled five sites in a transect moving away from town and quantified microplastics using Pyrolysis/gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. We found microplastics at every location, but patterns along the transect were unclear. We observed differences in polymer types at sampling sites closer to the community compared to sites further away suggesting the presence of local inputs. Overall, we highlight the use of snow as a local monitoring tool to assess contamination and sources of microplastics in the Arctic to inform future long-term monitoring programs. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Nunavut Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Science 10 3 476 482 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English French |
topic |
plastic pollution long-range transport polar atmospheric deposition Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 |
spellingShingle |
plastic pollution long-range transport polar atmospheric deposition Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 Bonnie M. Hamilton Les N. Harris Jennifer F. Provencher Chelsea M. Rochman The utility of monitoring snow for microplastics in the Arctic: a pilot study from Iqaluktuuttiaq, Nunavut |
topic_facet |
plastic pollution long-range transport polar atmospheric deposition Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 |
description |
Plastic pollution, including microplastics (<5 mm) has been identified as an emerging contaminant of Arctic concern and has been observed in wildlife, water, sediment, air, and snow. Because snow is relatively easy to sample and process for microplastics, it may be a useful compartment to monitor to assess patterns of microplastic contamination in polar regions. Microplastics can enter the Arctic through both long-range transport pathways and from local sources. By sampling snow across spatial scales, and multiple distances from local communities, researchers can explore local and distant sources of microplastics, thereby informing management strategies. With this in mind, we aimed to quantify mass concentrations of microplastics in snow samples collected north-east of Iqaluktuuttiaq, Nunavut. We sampled five sites in a transect moving away from town and quantified microplastics using Pyrolysis/gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. We found microplastics at every location, but patterns along the transect were unclear. We observed differences in polymer types at sampling sites closer to the community compared to sites further away suggesting the presence of local inputs. Overall, we highlight the use of snow as a local monitoring tool to assess contamination and sources of microplastics in the Arctic to inform future long-term monitoring programs. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bonnie M. Hamilton Les N. Harris Jennifer F. Provencher Chelsea M. Rochman |
author_facet |
Bonnie M. Hamilton Les N. Harris Jennifer F. Provencher Chelsea M. Rochman |
author_sort |
Bonnie M. Hamilton |
title |
The utility of monitoring snow for microplastics in the Arctic: a pilot study from Iqaluktuuttiaq, Nunavut |
title_short |
The utility of monitoring snow for microplastics in the Arctic: a pilot study from Iqaluktuuttiaq, Nunavut |
title_full |
The utility of monitoring snow for microplastics in the Arctic: a pilot study from Iqaluktuuttiaq, Nunavut |
title_fullStr |
The utility of monitoring snow for microplastics in the Arctic: a pilot study from Iqaluktuuttiaq, Nunavut |
title_full_unstemmed |
The utility of monitoring snow for microplastics in the Arctic: a pilot study from Iqaluktuuttiaq, Nunavut |
title_sort |
utility of monitoring snow for microplastics in the arctic: a pilot study from iqaluktuuttiaq, nunavut |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0041 https://doaj.org/article/621d276903674e2286c4abeadaa98024 |
genre |
Arctic Nunavut |
genre_facet |
Arctic Nunavut |
op_source |
Arctic Science, Vol 10, Iss 3, Pp 476-482 (2024) |
op_relation |
https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/as-2023-0041 https://doaj.org/toc/2368-7460 doi:10.1139/as-2023-0041 2368-7460 https://doaj.org/article/621d276903674e2286c4abeadaa98024 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0041 |
container_title |
Arctic Science |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
476 |
op_container_end_page |
482 |
_version_ |
1810292241302814720 |