Microplastic contamination of marine environment of the Barents and Kara seas in 2019
The content, morphological and chemical characteristics of microplastic particles in the “subsurface” layer (4,5 m) of the Barents and Kara Seas in 2019 were studied according to field measurements within the framework of the TRANSARCTICA-2019 cruise. The maximum content of anthropogenic microparticles is typical for the Barents Sea, especially for its southern part - up to 28 items/m3, the barrier role of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the distribution of particles further to the northeast has been confirmed. The minimum concentrations were recorded in the Kara Sea (1 items/m3), while increased concentrations (up to 4 items/m3) were observed in the plume area of Siberian rivers. The composition of samples is dominated by microfibers (more than 50 %), as well as particles with identified pigments. The most numerous are particles larger than 500 microns. The use of the Raman spectrometry method made it possible to identify not only fragments, but also a significant amount of pigments inherent in particles of anthropogenic origin, thus, in all types of microfibers and anthropogenic particles were taken into account in the microplastics analysis. The most likely sources of plastic waste and microplastics entering the central and northern part of the Barents Sea and the reason for the formation of the so-called “sixth” garbage patch in the Western Arctic is various types of shipping activities (liquid and solid waste from fishing and cargo vessels) in the southern part of the Barents Sea, as well as the neighboring Norwegian Sea, and not the long-range transport of particles from remote densely populated regions of Europe in the North Atlantic, as previously thought.