Microplastics in the first-year sea ice of the Novik Bay, Sea of Japan

Sea ice is heavily contaminated with microplastics particles (MPs, <5 mm). First-year sea ice cores (38-41 cm thick) were taken in the beginning of spring in a narrow populated bay of the Sea of Japan. Two ice cores were examined (layer-by-layer, excluding surface) for MPs content: one using mu-FTIR for 25-300 mu m (SMPs), and another one - with visual+Raman identification for 300-5000 mu m particles (LMPs). The integral (25-5000 mu m) bulk mean abundance of MPs was found to be 428 items/L of meltwater, with fibers making 19 % in SMPs size range and 59 % in LMPs. Integral mean mass of MPs was estimated in 34.6 mg/L, with 99.6 % contribution from fragments of LMPs. Comparison with simple fragmentation models confirms deficit of SMPs (especially of fibers in size range 150-300 mu m), suggested to result from their leakage with brine. Multivariate statistical analysis indicates strong positive correlation of large fiber (>300 mu m) counts and ice salinity.

Automated summary

Sea ice is highly polluted with microplastic particles, with a significant proportion being fibers. The average abundance of microplastics in sea ice was found to be 428 particles/L of meltwater, with an average mass of 34.6 mg/L, predominantly consisting of fragments from large particles (>300 μm). Furthermore, the study revealed a strong positive correlation between the quantity of large fiber particles and ice salinity.