© предоставлено Алексеем Ольшуковым, ТГУ
TOMSK, Sep 10 – RIA Tomsk. Biologists of Tomsk State University (TSU) and their colleagues from
other cities during the expedition assessed the level of bottom pollution in four
Arctic seas; it was found that the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea are the
cleanest, and the most common type of bottom debris is plastic, the
university's press service reported on Friday.
It is noted that until recently, the
main water area of the Arctic basin (Arctic Ocean) has not been studied for
marine debris. The trans-Arctic expedition involving TSU scientists was the
first to attempt to estimate the amount of debris on the bottom of the four
seas of the Arctic Ocean - the Chukchi, East Siberian, Kara and Laptev seas.
"The study analyzed the results of
bottom trawl surveys conducted in 2019 during a major trans-Arctic crossing. It
was found that the most common type of bottom litter was plastic... The
findings were published in the article "Marine seabed litter in Siberian
Arctic: A first attempt to assess" in Marine Pollution Bulletin
journal," the press service said.
The main pollutants in the Arctic seas,
according to the findings of scientists, are the removal of household rubbish
by large rivers and waste from maritime activities, as well as shipping and
coastal tourism.
© РИА Томск. Павел Стефанский
The maximum amount of solid rubbish is
found in the south-western part of the Kara Sea, while the Laptev Sea and the
East Siberian Sea remain the cleanest at the moment. This is due to the fact
that there are no major rivers and settlements there and no fisheries.
"Garbage of land origin gets into
the Kara Sea mainly with the runoff of large Siberian rivers - Ob and Yenisey.
Another source of pollution is the Barents Sea, where there is a large-scale
fishing industry. Fishing is practically not developed in the Kara Sea
itself," the press service quotes a participant of the expedition,
employee of the TSU Biological Institute of TSU Alexei Orlov.
© пресс-служба Томского государственного университета
Sorting out the trawl catch
© пресс-служба Томского государственного университета
Alexei Orlov