FIVE THINGS ABOUT ARCTIC PLASTIC

1 IT’S IN REMOTE ICE FLOES

Plastic waste in the ocean is now so widespread it is polluting remote ice floes in the Arctic, scientists have found. A team from Britain’s Exeter University, working alongside explorer Pen Hadow on a fact- finding expedition called Arctic Mission, discovered blocks of polystyrene in areas hundreds of kilometres from land that until recently were covered by ice all year.

2 IT’S DANGEROUS

Plastic poses an environmental threat as large pieces break down into “microplastics” consumed by wildlife and passed up the food chain. “Finding pieces of rubbish like this is a worrying sign that melting ice may be allowing high levels of pollution to drift into these areas. This is potentially very dangerous for the Arctic’s wildlife,” said Tim Gordon, a marine biologist from Exeter.

3 A NAUTICAL FIRST

The university exploration program is an attempt to make the first voyage by yacht to the North Pole to conduct vital scientific research in the Arctic’s unique and fragile environment. Recent reductions in the summer ice cover — thought to be the result of climate change — have allowed the mission’s two yachts to go further into the Central Arctic Ocean than before.

4 IT’S GETTING WORSE

The Arctic is thought to be a hot spot of microplastics accumulation due to the number of rivers that empty into the Arctic basin, said Dr. Ceri Lewis, scientific adviser to the expedition. Until now, plastic pollution was often trapped in the ice. “Now the ice is melting. We believe microplastics are being released ( into the ocean).”

5 MORE PLASTIC THAN FISH SOON

Estimates suggest there are more than five trillion pieces of plastic floating in the world’s oceans, and there are estimates they will soon outweigh fish.