Supported by: National Science Foundation
Northwest Passage Project 2019 expedition team. Photo credit: Northwest Passage Project
The Northwest Passage Project is a census of microplastics composition from sea ice in the Northwest Passage. Plastic research is fledgling in many ocean regions, including the Arctic. Sea ice is a concentrator of nutrients and a substrate for ecosystem activity, but it can also accumulate contaminants, including plastic
s. A research team, led by the URI Graduate School of Oceanography, studied the accumulation of microplastics during an interdisciplinary ocean-based research program (Northwest Passage Project) held in July and August 2019. The research aim was to determine the distribution of plastic particles within sea ice on a larger scale, along the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, and on a smaller scale, vertically within the ice core. Five kinds of plastic particles were detected according to the shape: beads, fibers, nylon, fragments, and rayon, which is not technically plastic, because it is made of cellulose. The results showed an average of ca. 200 particles per liter; most of the plastic particles (66%) were found in the top 20 cm of the core, and the remaining 34% was distributed throughout the bottom 180 cm. This suggests that floatation of the plastic or airborne transport is contributing to the plastic load in the ice.
Additional Information:
Northwest Passage Project website