Citizen scientists reveal: marine litter pollutes beaches and affects wild life (© B. Lutz)

Melanie Bergmann Birgit Lutz, Mine Tekman, Lars Gutow How it started

9000 ~ 2500 m depth 8000

7000

6000

5000

) 4000

3000

2000

Fram Strait 1000

0 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 (Source: T. Soltwedel

(Bergmann & Klages 2012, Tekman et al. 2017)

Strong increase in litter quantities on deep Arctic seafloor (2002 – 2014) Pollution Observatory (Frontiers in Arctic Marine Monitoring)

Ice cores & snow

Sea surface: observer, UAV, neuston nets

Water column: particle traps, pumps

Aim: Sample litter and microplastic from the cryosphere to the seafloor Seafloor: multiple corer, OFOS to identify sinks and pathways

Beach: citizen clean ups Methods

• Instruction via skype • Provided material: balances, GPS, protocol • Litter (> 1cm) picking along laid out transects • Sorting and weight recordings • One big-pack sample → Bremerhaven Results from surveys in 2016

14 Isflakbukta S China, India, Japan 3 - 29 - -2 Crozierpynten 9 5,800 g m

20 Alpiniøya Reinstrandodden 524

Fram Barents Strait Sea Brucebukta 22 26 Sørvika Svalbard beaches 9 - 524 g m-2 (⑨ in g m-2; Bergmann et al. 2017) Results from surveys in 2016 and 2017

14 Isflakbukta

Arctic Ocean Crozierpynten 9 • Similar range 20 Alpiniøya in 2017 Reinstrandodden 524 (9 - 61 g m-2) 9 Lomfjord  Accumulation rate of 12 g m-2 Wigdehlpynten 12 61 Kiepertøya per year ? Fram Barents Strait Sea Brucebukta 22 26 Sørvika 12

(⑨ in g m-2; Bergmann et al. 2017) Litter composition

By mass 2017: Abundance and mass 100 %

80 %

60 %

40 %

20 %

0 % Lomfjord Sørvika Wigdehlpynten Kiepertøya

• Plastic comprises 82 - 100% • Fisheries plastic accounts for 50 - 100% • By abundance fisheries plastic comprises only 2 - 60% Results from surveys in 2017 in numbers

Sea surface -2 Arctic Ocean Ø = 0.000027 items m

×37000

0.2 Lomfjord Svalbard beaches Ø = 1 item m-2 1.3 Wigdehlpynten 1.2 Kiepertøya

Fram Barents ×120 Strait Sea 1.3 Sørvika Deep seafloor Ø = 0.008081 items m-2

(⑨ in items m-2; Bergmann et al. 2017) Possible sources

• 40 % ‘local‘ sources • 43 % from European sources • 9 % more distant sources Kiepertøya

1% 3% Possible sources and pathways

Projected movement of floating plastic released from UK coast (ADRIFT tool) (Source:(Source: Van Van Sebille Sebilleet al. 2012)et al. 2016) (Data: Harbourmaster of Svalbard) (Data: Norwegian Fisheries Directorate)

• Build up of plastic debris from distant Atlantic sources • Increasing local emmission because of increased Arctic traffic due to retreating sea ice (tourism, fisheries, merchant shipping) (From: Outridge et al. 2008) • Leakage from Arctic rivers and the Pacific? Documenting impacts on Arctic wildlife

(Bergmann et al. 2017, Mar Poll Bull) Reindeer, seals, Arctic terns and polar bears become entangled in beached litter Summary

• Litter quantities on remote Arctic beaches are in range with populated Asian beaches • Arctic beaches appear to be sinks for marine litter from distant and increasing local sources • This puts additional pressure on stressed Arctic wildlife • Data from citizen scientists can be used to fill important knowledge gaps for remote under-sampled areas

(www.litterbase.org) Outlook

• Increase coverage: further clean-ups at more beaches of Svalbard • Temporal trends: repeated surveys • Further beach surveys west off (Arved Fuchs Expedition)

• Analyse results from observer surveys of floating litter

Greenland

North Atlantic Thanks!

• Variouscitizens,Sysselmannen, DavidShawWildlife,Julia Hager • Crews and expedition staff of SV Antigua, MV Plancius, SV Noorderlicht • Cruise operators: Tallship Company, Oceanwide Expeditions • Niklaas Schmidt – help sorting big pack

Contact: [email protected]