High Quantities of Microplastic in Arctic Deep-Sea Sediments from the HAUSGARTEN Observatory

Melanie Bergmann*, Vanessa Wirzberger, Thomas Krumpen, Claudia Lorenz, Sebastian Primpke, Mine B. Tekman, Gunnar Gerdts

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

577 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Although mounting evidence suggests the ubiquity of microplastic in aquatic ecosystems worldwide, our knowledge of its distribution in remote environments such as Polar Regions and the deep sea is scarce. Here, we analyzed nine sediment samples taken at the HAUSGARTEN observatory in the Arctic at 2340-5570 m depth. Density separation by MicroPlastic Sediment Separator and treatment with Fenton's reagent enabled analysis via Attenuated Total Reflection FTIR and μFTIR spectroscopy. Our analyses indicate the wide spread of high numbers of microplastics (42-6595 microplastics kg-1). The northernmost stations harbored the highest quantities, indicating sea ice as a possible transport vehicle. A positive correlation between microplastic abundance and chlorophyll a content suggests vertical export via incorporation in sinking (ice-) algal aggregates. Overall, 18 different polymers were detected. Chlorinated polyethylene accounted for the largest proportion (38%), followed by polyamide (22%) and polypropylene (16%). Almost 80% of the microplastics were ≤25 μm. The microplastic quantities are among the highest recorded from benthic sediments. This corroborates the deep sea as a major sink for microplastics and the presence of accumulation areas in this remote part of the world, fed by plastics transported to the North via the Thermohaline Circulation.

Original languageEnglish
JournalEnvironmental Science and Technology
Volume51
Issue number19
Pages (from-to)11000-11010
Number of pages11
ISSN0013-936X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 Oct 2017

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We thank the officers and crew of RV Polarstern and chief scientist of expedition PS93, T. Soltwedel. I. Schewe operated the multiple corer and C. Hasemann was in charge of biogeochemical sediment analyses, assisted by A. Pappert. MB was funded by the Helmholtz Alliance ROBEX (Robotic Exploration of Extreme Environments) and CL by a Ph.D. scholarship of the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt. This work was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Project BASEMAN - Defining the baselines and standards for microplastics analyses in European waters; BMBF grant 03F0734A) and contributes to the Pollution Observatory of the Helmholtz-funded infrastructure programme FRAM (Frontiers in Arctic Marine Research), which funded MBT. We value the comments of three reviewers, who improved an earlier version of this paper. This publication is Eprint ID 45112 of the Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar-und Meeresforschung.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 American Chemical Society.

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