The researchers undertook two expeditions to the area onboard the research vessel Polarstern - one in 2018, the next the following year - during which they took 34 samples of surface water and 79 subsurface samples for analysis.Īfter filtering eight million litres of seawater, the team found concentrations of microplastics that, while small, were only slightly lower than those recorded in other, more frequented, parts of the continent. Most previous investigations into the extent of microplastic pollution in Antarctica had been conducted in relatively less remote areas - those with more people, research stations and shipping traffic.įor the new study, which was conducted by environmental scientist Clara Leistenschneider of the University of Basel and colleagues, the team wanted to see if significantly lower concentrations would be found in the remote Weddell Sea.
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