![]() ![]() High concentrations of microplastic particles are reported across the Arctic Ocean–yet no meaningful point sources, suspension timelines, or accumulation areas have been identified. Here we use Lagrangian particle advection simulations to model the transport of buoyant microplastic from northern European rivers to the high Arctic, and compare model results to the flux of sampled synthetic particles across the main entrance to the Arctic Ocean. We report widespread dispersal along the Eurasian continental shelf, across the North Pole, and back into the Nordic Seas with accumulation zones over the Nansen basin, the Laptev Sea, and the ocean gyres of the Nordic Seas. The equal distribution of sampled synthetic particles across water masses covering a wide time frame of anthropogenic influence suggests a system in full saturation rather than pronounced injection from European sources, through a complex circulation scheme connecting the entire Arctic Mediterranean. This circulation of microplastic through Arctic ecosystems may have large consequences to natural ecosystem health, highlighting an ever-increasing need for better waste management. Since the start of plastic production in the 1950s a total of 6300 million metric tonnes (MMT) of plastic waste have been produced globally, and between 8 and 12.7 MMT of this plastic waste reaches the world’s oceans annually 1, 2. A major entry-point of plastic waste to the oceans is by riverine input and, depending on models, between 1.15–2.41 MMT 3 or 0.41–4.0 MMT are discharged annually, of which more than 50% consists of microplastic (i.e. Although 60% of all plastic produced today is positively buoyant in seawater in its original state 5, 6, several open questions remain on mechanisms controlling the duration to which microplastic stays suspended in the water column (i.e. While it may be deduced that most of the heavy fraction (relative to seawater, e.g. Rhino 7 Platinum 3000 enables you to achieve rock hard erections and gives you the. ![]() Polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene terephthalate ) would already sink out of the water column in the river itself or in the immediate vicinity of the river delta 7, 8, 9, the continued suspension of the buoyant microplastic (BMP, e.g. Price Last update on from Amazon Product Advertising API. polypropylene, and polyethylene ) may be affected by a multitude of mechanisms 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. However, in reality, an empirically determined suspension timeline of BMP in Arctic waters remains to be quantified. ![]() In any case, the continued suspension of BMP in the upper mixed layer may lead to substantial horizontal transport by ocean currents if allowed to enter Earth’s main circulation systems 18. For example, passive radioactive tracers accidentally released into the coastal waters of northern Europe have been shown to get entrained with the Norwegian Coastal Current (NCC) and disperse widely across the Arctic Ocean within less than a decade 19. SuperATV 7-10' Heavy Duty Lift Kit for Polaris RZR XP 1000 High Lifter Edition (2017+) - Red - Complete Kit with New Rhino 2.0 Axles, A Arms, Trailing Arms, Brake Lines, and More 3. ![]()
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