articleScience AdvancesApr 7, 2017GOLD OA

The Arctic Ocean as a dead end for floating plastics in the North Atlantic branch of the Thermohaline Circulation

ACAndrés CózarEMElisa MartíCMCarlos M. DuarteJGJuan García‐de‐LomasEVErik van Sebille

Universidad de Cádiz · Universidad del Mar · +15 more institutions

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Abstract

The subtropical ocean gyres are recognized as great marine accummulation zones of floating plastic debris; however, the possibility of plastic accumulation at polar latitudes has been overlooked because of the lack of nearby pollution sources. In the present study, the Arctic Ocean was extensively sampled for floating plastic debris from the Tara Oceans circumpolar expedition. Although plastic debris was scarce or absent in most of the Arctic waters, it reached high concentrations (hundreds of thousands of pieces per square kilometer) in the northernmost and easternmost areas of the Greenland and Barents seas. The fragmentation and typology of the plastic suggested an abundant presence of aged debris that…

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Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Thermohaline circulation
  • Oceanography
  • Circulation (fluid dynamics)
  • Shutdown of thermohaline circulation
  • The arctic
  • Arctic
  • Climatology
  • Environmental science
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Life below water
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