Scientists probe plastic in Antarctica’s marine ecosystem
Turkish scientists aim to further deepen the studies on marine phytoplankton, which are the 1st living groups that react directly to the changes that occur due to changing climate conditions
A TURKISH science team, traveling as part of the 8th National Antarctic Science Expedition, has been investigating the presence of micro, meso and macro-sized plastics in marine and lake ecosystems in Antarctica.
Under the Turkish Presidency and the Industry and Technology Ministry, with coordination by the Turkish-based TÜBİTAK MAM Polar Research Institute, seven scientists from the expedition have completed their projects by sampling the seas and lakes in and around Horseshoe Island.
Scientists evaluated multiple anthropogenic pressures on aquatic ecosystems by investigating the physicochemical characterization of the marine ecosystem in the region.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Faculty of Fisheries, Department of Marine Biology, Lecturer, and expedition participant Ülgen Aytan told Anadolu Agency (AA) that plastic pollution is not always visible. He said, “Especially the part we produce chronically in daily life, which has decreased below 5 millimeters, has become a rapidly growing threat to our planet.”
Aytan pointed out that it is possible to encounter microplastics in water, sediment, glaciers and living things in the Antarctic ecosystem, which is thousands of kilometers away from human influence and continued: “Our aim is to investigate the presence of micro, meso and macro-sized plastics in freshwater resources, glacial lakes and the sea on Horseshoe Island, where the Turkish scientific research camp is located, to identify their sources and to evaluate the environmental risk they pose for this ecosystem.”
Stating that they took samples from the sea, lake surface water and sediment on Horseshoe Island for plastic analysis, Aytan said that they will complete the environmental risk assessment by determining the types, sizes, colors and polymer contents of plastics with the analyses they will carry out at the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Microplastic Research Laboratory in Türkiye.
Aytan emphasized that “plastic” is a very general term and stated that plastics with different polymeric structures and, therefore, chemical contents are encountered under this term.
Aytan explained that with the analysis they will carry out, they will be able to evaluate to what extent the plastics they find pose a risk to this ecosystem with their environmental hazard scores.
Pointing out that there are mostly single-use plastics in the marine and freshwater environment, Aytan said, “We especially come across polymers such as polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate and polypropylene, but in our preliminary study in Antarctica, we also came across microplastics such as polyacrylonitrile, which are formed especially during the use and washing of synthetic textiles and can be carried to the poles with the atmosphere.”
Aytan touched upon the importance of improving these polymers, especially those used in synthetic textiles, after their work in the region and continued as follows:
“Additional additive chemicals used in the plastic industry need to be improved.
We aim to provide guiding data to decision-makers and the industry regarding the measures that need to be taken to reduce plastics in the marine and freshwater environment with the results we will obtain from a very special ecosystem such as Antarctica.”
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Faculty of Fisheries, Department of Marine Biology, Lecturer and expedition participant Professor Ertuğrul Ağırbaş also stated that the most important evidence of climate change is the increasing atmospheric air temperatures and the anomalies they cause in seawater.
Regarding their work on Horseshoe Island, Ağırbaş said, “We aim to deepen further the studies on marine phytoplankton, which is a subject that has been little studied in the region and to provide a basis for future studies in this context.”
Ağırbaş said, “Phytoplanktonic organisms are the first living groups that react directly to changes caused by changing climate conditions, and monitoring them will allow us to prepare for possible climate change scenarios in the future.”
He stated that it was a project in which they examined the nutrient salt dynamics of the region with the phytoplankton functional group ratios, pigment composition, microscopic cell count and hydrographic measurement.
Pointing out that they are in an important region that will most affect and regulate the world’s climate, Ağırbaş said, “We believe that the studies will contribute to the sustainable management of the Antarctic ecosystem and, in this context, will contribute to the future of the world.”
Faculty Member of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa Department of Environmental Engineering and expedition participant professor Nüket Sivri also sampled seawater at many points during the expedition.
Sivri, with her project on ‘Determination of Critical Raw Material (CHM) Concentrations in the Polar Regions and Adaptation of the Potential Ecological Risk Index to the Polar Regions,’ asked, ‘How do critical raw materials, which are important for industrial production and the sustainable functioning of the economy, affect the aquatic ecosystem health of the Antarctic region? ‘Are possible toxic effects and anthropogenic pressures observed in both polar regions? How might the potential ecological risk index (PERI) adapted for Antarctica differ from the index established for the Arctic?’ By searching for answers to these questions, he completed the part of his project on the White Continent.
Another expedition participant, professor Mehtap Dursun, also researched creating the infrastructure for environmental examination of micro pollutants in Antarctica.
Dursun stated that they can generally define micro pollutants as micro- and nano-level pollutants that harm living things in the aquatic environment and said, “We are especially investigating the environmental presence of polyaromatic hydrocarbons formed as a result of incomplete combustion and pesticides used for agricultural purposes on the Antarctic continent.”
Explaining that he sampled the lakes and snow water on Horseshoe Island as part of his study, Dursun said: “We carried out our marine sampling at approximately 25 stations. Since high volumes of water are required to analyze micro pollutants in the current environment, we will obtain the results by analyzing our pre-processed samples on the ship in our research laboratory in Türkiye without carrying any water to the laboratory with our method.”
Pointing out that they aim to create an environmental monitoring infrastructure in Antarctica, Dursun said, “Later, with the data we obtained as a result of this research if our method is successful, we will observe the continuity and change of these environmental monitoring over time in the future.”