Contributions to the Accumulation of Microplastics in the Arctic Ocean: a Regional Analysis of the Barents Sea
Khandwala, I., Bailey, D. A., Li, L., Jahn, A.. (2025). Contributions to the Accumulation of Microplastics in the Arctic Ocean: a Regional Analysis of the Barents Sea. , doi:https://doi.org/10.5065/bz5t-0z33
| Title | Contributions to the Accumulation of Microplastics in the Arctic Ocean: a Regional Analysis of the Barents Sea |
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| Genre | Manuscript |
| Author(s) | Isha Khandwala, David A. Bailey, Lingwei Li, A. Jahn |
| Abstract | The Arctic Ocean may be acting as a significant accumulation region for microplastics (MPs), those measuring less than 5 mm in diameter. Previous studies have found that the concentration of MPs in Arctic sea ice is significantly higher than in the underlying Arctic Ocean, by at least an order of magnitude. Given the widespread effects that MPs can have on the Arctic Ocean and its response to a changing world, strategies must be developed to mitigate their effects and protect these vulnerable ecosystems. However, the role that Atlantic water pathways play in the movement of MPs, and thus their fates in polar areas, remains unknown. This study assesses potential pathways MPs follow as they enter the Arctic Ocean from the Atlantic Basin, by analyzing relevant output data from Community Earth System Model, version 2.3 (CESM 2.3) configured with MP tracers. These tracers are introduced yearly along the Pacific and Atlantic coastlines and differ in their buoyancy, where positively buoyant microplastics (PB-MPs) rise in the water column, neutrally buoyant microplastics (NB-MPs) follow the water, and negatively buoyant MPs sink. We look at the annual and monthly mean data for the final year of the simulation, 2017, representing typical MP interactions with ocean currents and resulting concentrations. We find that both marginal seas introducing Atlantic Water into the Arctic are significant modes of transport for NB-MPs into the Central Arctic Ocean, which are more susceptible to the subduction of water. PB-MPs also find their way to deeper depths in the Greenland Sea and consequently into the Eurasian Basin at lower concentrations. However, the pathway through the Barents Sea seems to have little to do with the transport of PB-MPs at any level. These results have some agreement with observations, which are only at the surface level, but need more tuning to be truly comparable. |
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| Publication Date | Aug 1, 2025 |
| Publisher's Version of Record | https://doi.org/10.5065/bz5t-0z33 |
| OpenSky Citable URL | https://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d7542t16 |
| OpenSky Listing | View on OpenSky |
| CGD Affiliations | PPC, CGDVISITORS |