Plastic in the Arctic Ocean

• Main Authors: Roxana Suehring, Jennifer Adams, Gary Stern, Miriam L. Diamond
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Environmental engineering; n.e.c; Marine ecology (including marine ichthyology); Ecology; plastic; contamination; pollution; Arctic; Arctic pollution; Arctic Ocean; Global warming
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.32920/21977399.v1; https://figshare.com/articles/online_resource/Plastic_in_the_Arctic_Ocean/21977399

[para. 1]: "The Arctic is a sensitive ecosystem and a harbinger of global change. Indeed, the Arctic is warming at two to three times faster than the worldwide average, and polar bears, the Arctic's iconic top predator of the Arctic, are threatened. While global warming threatens the Arctic and its sensitive ecosystem, pollutio of Arctic waters poses another very real threa. The Arctic is the final "sink" or place of accumulation of many pollutants emitted from industrialised regions such as Northern America and Europe and well beyond. pollutants arrive in the Arctic by hemispheric air flows and by global water circulation patterns. Once i the arctic, pollutants resist degradation because of cold temperatures (which limit microbial degradation), and the Arctic has many dark months (which limits chemical degradation from sunlight). The Arctic ecosystem is also sensitive because pollutants are more available for accumulation by limited animal biomass. This availability is due to the limited "storage" capacity of the Arctic. For example, sparse Arctic soils do not allow for pollutant "storage" and "shielding" from biotic uptake, as is the case in temperate and tropical systems."