Scientists discover chunks of plastic floating on Arctic Ice

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Plastic pollution on an ice floe in the middle of the Arctic Ocean.

A British-led expedition has discovered sizeable chunks of polystyrene lying on remote frozen ice floes in the middle of the Arctic Ocean.

The depressing find, only 1,000 miles from the north pole, is the first made in an area that was previously inaccessible to scientists because of sea ice. It is one of the most northerly sightings of such detritus in the world’s oceans, which are increasingly polluted by plastics.

A team of scientists drawn from the UK, US, Norway and Hong Kong, headed by marine biologist Tim Gordon of Exeter University, said the discovery confirmed just how far plastic pollution has spread. It has prompted fears that plastic waste is flowing into the Arctic as the ice melts because of climate change. The thaw is simultaneously releasing plastic that has long been trapped in the ice.


The scientists, who were on the explorer Pen Hadow’s Arctic Mission attempt to sail to the north pole, were surprised to discover the blocks of polystyrene many hundreds of miles from land in areas that were, until recently, covered by ice all year round. They found two large pieces on the edge of ice floes between 77° and 80° north, in the middle of the international waters of the central Arctic Ocean.
“For the 25 years I have been exploring the Arctic I have never seen such large and very visible items of rubbish,” said Hadow, the only person to have trekked solo, without resupply, from Canada to the geographic north pole. “The blocks of polystyrene were just sitting on top of the ice.”


“Finding pieces of rubbish like this is a worrying sign that melting ice may be allowing high levels of pollution to drift into these areas,” Gordon said. “This is potentially very dangerous for the Arctic’s wildlife.”

The pioneering expedition – using two yachts – sailed further into the international waters of the Central Arctic Ocean than any previous navigation attempt without icebreakers. Rates of ice melt have increased dramatically due to climate change, with 40% of the central Arctic Ocean now navigable in summer.


Estimates suggest that there are more than 5 trillion pieces of plastic floating on the surface of the world’s oceans. It has been claimed that there is now enough plastic to form a permanent layer in the fossil record. Dr Ceri Lewis, scientific adviser to the expedition based at the University of Exeter, has previously warned that people produce around 300 million tons of plastic a year, roughly the same weight as all the humans on the planet. Around half of all plastic produced is used once and then thrown away.

A significant concern is that large plastic pieces can break down into “microplastics” – tiny particles that are accidentally consumed by filter-feeding animals. The particles remain in animals’ bodies and are passed up the food chain, threatening wildlife at all levels from zooplankton to apex predators such as polar bears. In an attempt to gauge the presence of microplastics in Arctic waters, the scientists intend to test samples of seawater they collected in nets with holes smaller than a millimetre across.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/24/arctic-plastic-pollution-polystyrene-wildlife-threat
 
I thought water only flow OUT of the Arctic ice cap. I guess there are rivers flowing inwards I suppose. Right? Do they have fjords up there in the North Pole?
 
This was bound to happen. Plastic is ubiquitous and immortal. Though I understand it's a problem, I hope plastic bags aren't banned. I like them, and reuse them for all sorts of things. Paper bags are not an acceptable replacement, because they rarely come with the all-important handles.
 
Actually, plastics degrade all the time. The notion that plastics lasts forever is a myth. All kind of plastics have its weakness. Ultra-violet light, hot, cold, the elements, microbes, naturally occurring analogues to the solvents they have an affinity to. Who really knows how fossil fuels come to be? Even experts and so called experts admitted the whole thing are complete speculation on its origin. Dinosaurs? Algae? Abiotic? Rigs just drill, but how the thing that come out came to be is a mystery.

Sorry Alex. I was fooled too. It's like more more things that we thought were hard facts are complete hogwash nonsense. But yea, you shouldn't shit the same place where you eat.

Plastics are fantastic! No plastics, no life. Look at how people are better off with plastics. Sure the litter is an eye sore but that's just waste management issues. In fact, wastes are a myth! Everything has it's repurposed value.

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE is silly

It should be WASTE NOT and REIMAGINED. Value creates value. Plastics are fantastic!
 
Feryorinfo, I don't work for a plastic company.

And eughhh!!! Don't I sound optiministic. Cringe!!
 
Whybother, that was a most enjoyable lecture on science in general and plastic in particular. Now I know that plastics obey the laws of degradation like everything else. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if it weren't for your arsehole, your belly would bust...YAY for PLASTIC!
 
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