Plastic pollution has been detected wherever scientists have looked for it; from the depths of the ocean to the snow in the Alps, and from the North to the South Pole. But if plastic “is everywhere”, then why go to Antarctica to study this form of pollution? In comparison with other regions, Antarctica and the Southern Ocean have been less impacted by humans and are therefore still relatively pristine. Plastic ingestion by Antarctic birds has nonetheless been reported since the early 80s, and microplastics in particular have been reported at least since 2009. In part, oceanic currents are thought to limit the distribution of marine plastic debris from other oceans, such as the Atlantic Ocean, into the Southern Ocean. 2MB field notes from Antarctica This spring, Gabriel Erni Cassola (right) and Kevin Leuenberger (left) from the University of Basel are on board the German icebreaker "Polarstern" in the Southern Ocean. The researchers want to find out how animals and bacteria in...
