Microplastic and environmental data from Arctic sea ice

Microplastics (MP) are recognized as a growing environmental hazard and have been identified as far as the remote Polar Regions, with particularly high concentrations of microplastics in sea ice. Little is known regarding the horizontal variability of MP within sea ice and how the underlying water body affects MP composition during sea ice growth. Here we show that sea ice MP has no uniform polymer composition and that, depending on the growth region and drift paths of the sea ice, unique MP patterns can be observed in different sea ice horizons. Thus even in remote regions such as the Arctic Ocean, certain MP indicate the presence of localized sources. Increasing exploitation of Arctic resources will likely lead to a higher MP load in the Arctic sea ice and will enhance the release of MP in the areas of strong seasonal sea ice melt and the outflow gateways.微塑料（Microplastics, MP）已被公认为日益严峻的环境危害，即便在偏远的极地地区也已被检出，且海冰中的微塑料浓度尤其突出。目前学界对海冰内部微塑料的水平分布变异性，以及海冰形成过程中下层水体如何影响微塑料组成的认识仍十分有限。本研究表明，海冰中的微塑料并无统一的聚合物组成；根据海冰的形成区域与漂流路径，不同海冰层位可呈现出独特的微塑料分布特征。因此，即便在北冰洋这类偏远海域，部分微塑料也能指示局地污染源的存在。北极资源开发强度的不断提升，大概率会导致北极海冰中的微塑料负荷进一步升高，并加剧季节性海冰强融化区域及海冰输出通道的微塑料释放量。